Manju
From Free net encyclopedia
- Manju (from Sanskrit) is an Indian name, often female. The name means pleasing.
- Manju refers to (Japanese: 饅頭, manjū) a famous, popular, and traditional Japanese confection.
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Hindu Meanings
The name Manju is a fairly common name in India for females. The name translates to mean "pleasing."
In Southern part of India(especially in Karnataka) Manju is very common name for both male and females. Manju is a nick name (shorter version) of Manjunatha (male) or Manjula (female) and hence can not say whether Manju is a male or female name unless you know the person or the fullname. Manju literally means "mist" or "fog" and Manjula means "pleasing" or "melodious" where Manjunatha means "lord of mist" or "pleasing lord".
Both the male and female version of the names Manju are originated by the deity Sri Manjunatha Swamy residing at the temple of Dharmasthala. The place Dharmasthala and the temple are very popular in Karnataka and is one of the sacred places in South India very well known to all pious people. Millions of people visit this temple every year and the pilgrims are provided with free food and shelter as charilty is a synonym to Dharmasthala. Hence the name Manju (Manjunatha or Manjula) is very common among the people in South India. It seems the mountains covered by mist or fog most time of the year where this temple is located and hence the name of this deity is "Manju natha" meaning "Lord of Mist".
Japanese Meanings
There are many varieties of manju, but most have an outside made from flour, rice powder and buckwheat and an inside filled with an (red bean paste). The bean paste is made from boiled azuki beans and sugar. They are boiled together again and kneaded. There are several varieties of bean paste including koshian, tsubuan, and tsubushian. Bean paste is used in most parts of Japanese-style confectionery.
Varieties
There are a myriad of varieties of manju, and soome more common than others. For example, matcha (green tea) manju is one of the most common. In this case, the outside of the manju has a green tea flavor and is colored green. There are also manju that have different flavors in the inside, such as orange-flavored cream. Also, as is the case with many Japanese foods, in some parts of Japan one can find manju unique to that region. Dougo manju is an example for this. The town of Dougo is famed for its hot springs; the manju here has an ordinary taste but it has a different name because it is a peculiarity.
History
Manju was derived from a type of mochi (蒸餅), or pounded rice paste, that existed in China for a long time. It was originally called mantou but became known as manju when it came to Japan. In 1341, a Japanese envoy that came back from China brought back manju with him and started to sell it as Nara-manju. It is said that this was the origin of Japanese manju. Since then, it has been eaten for over 700 years by all kinds of Japanese citizens. Now you can find it in any Japanese sweet shop. Being able to buy it cheaply is another reason why manju have been famous and loved by Japanese people for a long time.ja:饅頭