CASE STUDY

• Dorayaki Machine
• Ayuyaki・Anmaki

G.K. Tamaiya Honpo

Tamaiya Honpo, founded in 1908, is a long-standing store that has been operating for 116 years at a picturesque site in scenic Gifu City. It is said to be the origin of Gifu's famous ayu-gashi (sweets shaped like sweetfish). It is located approximately 450 m from the station for the cormorant fishing tourist boat at the approach to Nagara Bridge in Kawara-machi, an area with elegant streetscapes of rows of traditional townhouses.
Third-generation president Tamai Hiroko launched the Kawaramachi Town Development Association in 2001, and as secretary-general, she has striven to promote renovations that are conscious of the scenery and to foment community culture, with the goal of "a livable, comfortable town with a feeling of history and culture."
Upon the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2008, Tamaiya Honpo renewed its traditional townhouse. In the renovation, they made the most of the latticed doors and traditionally deep townhouse structure while displaying tools and other items, like boxes for confectionery dedicated to previous emperors and confectionery ledgers. A site tour route was also installed in the factory. In this way, the store's manufacture of Japanese confectionery has maintained its connection to tradition while breathing new life into it.
The ayu-gashi "Nobori-ayu" was invented by Tamaiya Keitarō, grandfather of the first president, who was proud of the sweet that he spread around lavishly as a famous Gifu item.
In 2019, Tamaiya Honpo released the "Gekokujō Ayu," a sweet based on the "Yaki-ayu" dry confectionery conceived by the first president that represents the form of a sweetfish that is about to be caught by cormorant fishing but exacts its revenge on the cormorant instead. To get younger generations to become aware of Japanese confectionery again, the development was assigned to the eldest son of the president's nephew, who was working in a position related to video games. The sweet's uniqueness made it a topic of discussion and it was awarded the Japan Package Design Awards for 2021.
Using tradition as a foundation while also incorporating the air of the current era little by little is how "tradition" should be, and we hope to continue valuing playfulness while we keep making confectionery with care, sincerity, and a constant focus on our customers.

• Full Automatic Dorayaki Machine (SDR-KAM)