Chinsukou

Registration Number	155
Name of the GI	Chinsukou
Class	Processed Foodstuffs
Date of Protection	2024/08/27
Producing Area	Okinawa Prefecture
Applicant - Name and Address	Okinawa-ken Kanko Omiyagehin Kousei Torihiki Kyougikai (Okinawa Prefectural Travel Souvenir Fair Trade Association) Chusho Kigyo Shinkou Kaikan 3F, c/o Naha Chamber of Commerce & Industry 2-2-10 Kume, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture

Producing Area

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"Chinsukou" is a traditional baked sweet of Okinawa. It is crunchy but melts in the mouth and has a rich and distinctive flavor.
　Its origins date back to the period of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Today, the sweet is highly popular as a souvenir typical of Okinawa and is recognized nationwide in Japan.

The entire manufacturing process of Chinsukou is completed within Okinawa Prefecture.
　Ingredients include cereal flour such as wheat flour, sugar, and lard (including oils and fats derived from lard).
　Production involves mixing the ingredients, shaping them into various forms, and baking. Adding flavors, such as fruit pulp, fruit juice, and chocolate, and coating or soaking the baked sweet with or in a flavor is also possible.

Chinsukou is a baked sweet and was developed based on a traditional and original sweet of Okinawa, which was prepared by Arakaki Pechin Shukuki, the last court chef of Ryukyu Kingdom ⁽¹⁾, in Shuri-jo Castle.
　Chinsukou in today's form was devised by Arakaki Shukukou, an offspring of the chef mentioned above, in 1908. Shukukou baked the dough of Chinsukou in a brick oven instead of steaming like his ancestor and started to sell it in the form of bite-size confectionery, making the baked sweet available to everyone.
　In the producing area, pig farming has been active since early times, and the food culture that consumes all parts of the pig has become rooted. One of the main ingredients, lard, contains much oleic acid and is not easily oxidized. The use of lard gives body and depth to the taste of "Chinsukou" and generates a unique flavor that sets it apart from standard cookies and biscuits.
　Today, it is made into various shapes, such as long, round, and heart-shaped. Secondary ingredients are also used to produce diverse "Chinsukou" types, such as chocolate-coated types, types containing fruit juice or pulp in the dough, and types soaked in chocolate after they are baked.
　"Chinsukou" has established its position as a souvenir of Okinawa and gained nationwide recognition and popularity. It is a popular souvenir representing the culture and history of Okinawa.

The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom that existed for 450 years (from 1429 to 1879), mainly on the Ryukyu Islands, which are the current Okinawa Prefecture.