The history and origin of taiyaki trace back to the late Meiji period (1909) in Tokyo.
Kiyojirō Kanbei, born in Osaka, opened a store (now known as Naniwaya Souhonten) in Tokyo and worked on developing a new menu based on imagawayaki, which was already popular at the time. After considerable effort, he invented taiyaki.
The development was prompted by poor sales of imagawayaki. Although imagawayaki was widely known, the version sold at Kiyojirō's store did not gain much popularity, and sales were struggling.
To break through this difficult situation, Kiyojirō began development, keeping the original imagawayaki recipe and filling but changing only the shape to create the "taiyaki". By using the design of the sea bream (tai), which had long been cherished by Japanese people as a symbol of good luck, he aimed to market it as a "celebratory" treat.
The result was a resounding success. The taiyaki, baked in the shape of a sea bream, captured the hearts of the Japanese people and quickly spread throughout the country.
Today, taiyaki has become a staple snack for the general public and remains an unwaveringly popular item at food stalls and for street food. In the late Shōwa period, a children's song featuring taiyaki as the main character became a phenomenal hit.