thumb|Kimuraya in [[Ginza]]
is a Japanese sweet roll, most commonly filled with red bean paste. Anpan can also be prepared with other fillings, including white beans (shiro-an), green beans (uguisu-an), sesame (goma-an), and chestnuts (kuri-an). The name is a compound word, combining an (sweet bean paste) and pan (bread).
History
Anpan was first made in 1875 in the Meiji era, as western bakeries gained popularity in Japan for the first time. Its creator, (木村安兵衛 Kimura Yasubei), a samurai who lost his job with the rise of the Imperial Japanese Army and the dissolution of the samurai as a social class. The Meiji era marked a period of rapid modernization in Japan, and many samurai who lost their jobs were given work that was totally new to them. The role of a baker was one such job.
One day, while wandering around the area where many employed in new jobs worked, Kimura found a young man making bread, and decided to start his own bakery, named Bun'eidō (文英堂)