包著各種餡料的棉花糖，今天聽來不大新奇，但在1887年，當小吃在岡山首次誕生時，卻令時人驚歎驚艷不已。
這小吃在當時被稱為「鶴之玉子」，是由下山治四郎發明的。某天他往有日本三大名園之稱的後樂園散步，被池裡白鶴的優美姿態所吸引。那時棉花糖於國外傳入日本不久，白鶴柔軟光滑的羽毛讓他聯想到軟綿綿的棉花糖，並且構思出在棉花糖上加入蛋黃陷料，造成和洋折充的和菓子。對當時人來說，可說是極為優雅而時尚的甜品。
下山治四郎創辦的鶴之玉子本舖已來到了第四代，至今仍然不斷創作出新的鶴之卵，近來製作出的是芝麻餡料的。秉承著店舖百多年來的理念，製作菓子的材料都是全天然的，工序則全由人手進行。雞蛋來自廣島縣，芝麻則是福岡，全都來路清晰。
這個系列為鶴之玉子本舖旗下品牌Tsurutama的產品，黑白的盒子與包裝紙，包裝極為簡潔漂亮，與鶴之玉子的顏色相襯。
Marshmallow with different fillings can hardly surprise anyone nowadays, but back in 1887, people from Okayama were naturally amazed when this type of sweet was first introduced to their prefecture.
Back in the days when Shimoyama Jishiro invented this candy, it was called Tsurunotamako. One day when wandering in Kōraku-en, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, Jishiro was attracted by the graceful gesture of the white cranes swimming in the pond. The cranes’ fluffy feather reminded him of marshmallow, which was recently brought to Japan from overseas. A sudden thought came to his mind — he had an idea of filling marshmallow with custard to turn it into a fusion wagashi. People in his time saw it an exceptionally elegant and stylish dessert.
Tsurunotamako Honpu, a Tsurunotamako shop founded by Shimoyama Jishiro more than a hundred years ago has come to the fourth generation. It has not ceased from bringing new flavors to customers. The shop’s most recent invention was sesame stuffed marshmallow. From the very beginning of business, Tsurunotamako Honpu has been using all natural ingredients and has never relied on machines for any of the processes. The origin of ingredients is always made transparent — the eggs are from Hiroshima, the sesame is from Fukuoka.
This series of Tsurunotamako is branded under the name Tsurutama, which uses black and white for wrapping paper and packaging. The simplistic and appealing design is obviously a perfect match to the Tsurunotamako itself.
