Pop Japan

Aside from rice cakes, Japan also has its own set of sumptuous and sweet cakes.

Castella is a famous Japanese sponge cake from Nagasaki Prefecture. The food is actually of Western descent, particularly Spanish. During the 16th century, some Portuguese merchants brought the cake to the Land of the Rising Sun. The name of the Nagasaki cake came from the Portuguese phrase, Pao de Castela, which literally means "bread from Castile." Castile is actually an ancient kingdom in Spain wherein the last ruler, Charles I, is considered to be the first monarch of Spain.

Photo by 663highland. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Tags: food, rice cake, japan, castella, nagasaki prefecture, spanish, portuguese, land of the rising sun, pao de castela, bread from castile, spain, charles I, first monarch of spain