One of the most popular souvenirs from Okinawa is a simple cookie called “chinsukō”. You have probably been given a box of them or even bought some for friends and co-workers yourself.

There are two theories about the origin of the funny sounding name. One is that “chin” (珍) means “rare” and “sukō” means “confectionery” (お菓子), so that name chinsukō refers to “a very rare and precious confectionery”. Another theory suggest that “chin” actually means “gold” (金), such that chinsukō indicates a very expensive confectionery. Either way, it seems to mean that the cookies were out of reach for ordinary people in Okinawa. Indeed, chinsukō was a confectionery originally served at court and only the royalty and nobility of the Ryūkyū Dynasty were able to enjoy it.

Until Shōtai (尚泰), the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, envoys were sent from China for nearly 500 years, without ceasing even when the Chinese dynasty changed from Ming to Qing. It is said that they came in groups of about 400 people and stayed in Ryūkyū for 4 to 6 months. The envoys were accompanied by various specialists, including confectioners, and it is believed that the method of making Chinese confectionery was introduced to Ryūkyū at the time.