Karako (food) - Karako

...A food made by soaking raw rice in water to soften it and then pounding it. It is called by different names depending on the region, such as "shiromochi," "karako," "ohataki," and "namako," but "kaori" is an old word that appears in the "Wamyosho" and "Shinsen Jikyo." As the "Wamyosho" says, "it is a festival rice cake," it is generally used as a type of offering in festivals, but in the Tohoku region, in addition to rice kaori, there are also millet kaori and foxtail millet kaori, which are everyday foods.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "karako (food)" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…生米を水にひたしてやわらかくし搗（つ）き砕いて作った食べ物。〈しろもち〉〈からこ〉〈おはたき〉〈なまこ〉などと地方によって呼称は違うが，粢は《和名抄》や《新撰字鏡》にも見えている古語である。《和名抄》に〈祭餅也〉とあるように，一般には神祭の供え物(神饌)の一種に用いられているが，東北地方では米粢のほかに粟粢，稗粢があり，日常の食べ物になっていた。…

※「からこ（食物）」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報