バウムクーヘン

Baumkuchen is the German source form behind バウムクーヘン: Baum means "tree" and Kuchen means "cake". Duden defines Baumkuchen as a high cylindrical cake baked in layers from sponge batter, often with sugar or chocolate glaze. Japanese dictionaries also give 木の菓子 as the literal sense, because the sliced cake shows ring-like layers. The route into Japan is concrete. Karl Juchheim, a German confectioner held in Japan after World War I, sold baumkuchen on March 4, 1919, at an exhibition sale connected with the Ninoshima prisoner camp in Hiroshima. After his Yokohama shop in 1922 and later Kobe business, the German cake entered Japan's yōgashi culture and became common in department stores and gift catalogs. In present Japanese, バウムクーヘン and バームクーヘン both appear, with バーム common in product names. The German word names a specific spit-baked layered cake, while Japanese use often includes small packaged slices and formal gifts for weddings or return presents. Example: 内祝いにバウムクーヘンを贈った. The Japanese form keeps the German compound, but the social use is much wider in Japan.