is a dry Japanese condiment sprinkled on top of cooked rice, or used as an ingredient in . It typically consists of a mixture of dried fish or freeze-dried eggs, sesame seeds, dried seaweed flakes, sugar, and salt. Other ingredients, such as (sometimes indicated on the package as bonito), (bonito flakes moistened with soy sauce and dried again), freeze-dried salmon particles, , egg, powdered miso, or vegetables, are often added.
According to this definition, gomashio (sesame salt), which is traditionally sprinkled on red bean rice, and shiso, after being used to season umeboshi (pickled plums) and dried and powdered, are also furikake. Chazuke-no-moto, a mixture that becomes chazuke when hot green tea is poured on it after sprinkling on rice, is also similar to furikake.
The term furikake became established in the 1950s, but there were equivalent foods to it even before that.
The 13th-century culinary treatise "Chujiruiki" (厨事類記) lists shredded and dried red seabream, salmon, and shark meat, as well as thin slices of katsuobushi, as garnishes for rice.
Gomashio, which is still commonly eaten today, is made by roasting sesame seeds and mixing them with baked salt, and appears in an ancient document, Diary of Ishiyama Hongan-ji at 1536, under the name "gomashio." In that document, it is written that "on March 3, sekihan (red rice) was served at the celebration, and gomashio was placed on top of it."
thumb|Furikake on [[ochazuke]]
Denbu (田麩), a food made by boiling powdered dried bonito flakes in sake and soy sauce, appears in an ancient 17th-century document called "Kokin Ryouri-shu" ("Collection of Ancient and Modern Cookbooks").
Tsukudani (佃煮), which appears in the 19th century colloquial dictionary "Risogonshuran" (俚言集覧) compiled by Ota Zensai (太田全斎), is made by boiling down small fish, shellfish, seaweed, and other ingredients in soy sauce to a rich flavor. The use of tsukudani is similar to furikake, but it is not usually called furikake in Japan today.
The modern furikake was invented by several companies between the 1900s and 1920s for the purpose of tasty nourishment. Regarding modern furikake, the Japan Furikake Association recognized Futaba's "Gohan no Tomo" as the original in 1994, but revoked this recognition in 2022 and is conducting a reexamination. The association's conclusion has not been reached as of 2023.
One account of the origin of is that it was developed during the Taishō period (1912–1926) by a pharmacist in Kumamoto prefecture named . To address calcium deficiency in the Japanese population, Yoshimaru developed a mixture of ground fish bones with roast sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and seaweed that was made into a powder. This product, which he called , is generally considered the precursor to contemporary . A food company in Kumamoto later acquired the product and was able to sell it commercially.
In 1927, a grocery retailer in Fukushima City named Seiichirō Kai developed a mixture consisting of ishimochi (石持 or 石首魚, silver white croaker, Pennahia argentata) with soy sauce seasoning, kelp, and sesame seeds. He founded the Marumiya Food Research Institute.
Kai called his product ; it was popular on its release. Although was initially considered a luxury item for the affluent who were able to consume white rice on a regular basis, it later was made accessible to the Japanese working class. was made widely available as it was dispensed to those serving in the Japanese military starting in World War I. The name comes from the desire to create a connection ("縁" (yukari) in Japanese) with customers.
In the 1980s, furikake became strongly associated with children's food, and its use rapidly declined after the age of 12. In 1989, Nagatanien began selling "furikake for adults" using ingredients with a luxurious taste and pungent flavor. The initial varieties were "Salmon," "Bonito," and "Wasabi."
<gallery widths="130px" heights="130px" mode="packed">
File:Noritama01.jpg|Noritama on rice
File:Otonano Furikake01.jpg| Furikake for Adult on rice
File:Yukari on Rice.jpg|Yukari (shiso salt) on rice
File:ふりかけごはん (9360260673).jpg|Three types of furikake
File:和風の朝食3.jpg|On onigiri
</gallery>
Manufacturers
Marumiya has been selling furikake since 1927, and according to a 2021 The Nikkei survey, 11 of its products are among the top 20 value share about products in large bags. The product names include "Noritama", "Ajidoraku", "Soft Furikake", "Sukiyaki", and "Honkatsuo."
Nagatanien sells furikake that is divided into individual servings. Its main products are "Furikake for Adult", "Furikake for Adult Mini", and "Anpanman Furikake." However, Nagatanien's market share is far behind that of Marumiya.