Botamochi (ぼたもち or 牡丹餅) is a wagashi (Japanese confection) made with glutinous rice, regular rice (ratio of 7:3, or only glutinous rice), and sweet azuki paste (red bean paste). They are made by soaking the rice for approximately 1 hour. The rice is then cooked, and a thick azuki paste is hand-packed around pre-formed balls of rice. Botamochi is eaten as sacred food as offering during the weeks of the spring and the autumn Higan in Japan. Botamochi is the modern name for the dish kaimochi (かいもち) mentioned in the Heian Period text Uji Shūi Monogatari (宇治拾遺物語).