Gargoyle

Couldn't resist. In the doorway of my local market, there is a revolving series of vendors. This vendor, a husband and wife setup, sells manju items (sweet bean paste pastries). I have seen them for years, but have only purchased once or twice. Tonight, they had a new display and I couldn't resist. The picture depicts an "oni" (devil), but the kanji says "onigawara" (monaka =filled), which means the end-tile on a roof line in Japan, that is synonymous with a gargoyle in the West. What does this have to do with manju? Mostly just the kakoii (cool) depiction of the face and the good luck-ness nuance in being associated with the manju (I assume). At ANY rate, I was too shy to ask the husband and wife team to pose for the pic, but instead got their new display. So there.