About Menma
The Origin of the Name, Menma
Menma, now one of the typical ingredients of ramen, was called “shina-chiku” (Chinese bamboo shoots) in Japan until the 1950s (Showa period 20s) because it was bamboo shoots from China. The raw material was originally a type of bamboo called “machiku”, which is not found in Japan. In Taiwan, it was dried and used as a preserved food, commonly known as “sungan”. The most common way to cook them was to stir-fry or stew them with pork.
Our predecessor company, which had paid attention to this ingredient, began producing “sungan” in Taiwan and exporting them to the coast cities in mainland China. In the Taisho period (1912-1926), our company's president at the time (Matsukichi Kaku) who was on a trip to Japan, which he had no prior business dealings, happened to come across “sungan” packed in bags with our company logo “Marumatsu” in Yokohama's Chinatown. He was also very surprised to find that the “sungan” were used as an ingredient for ramen noodles, which was unthinkable in the Greater China region. This unexpected event led us to start direct business with Japan later on.
One day after WW2, when we applied to export “sungan” to Japan from Taiwan as usual, we were protested because the export notation name “shina-chiku” was considered to contain a derogatory term. After much thought and consideration, our honorary chairman, Shusui Matsumura, the son of the president of our predecessor company, came up with the idea of changing the name to “menma”. Since menma are used in Japan as topping for noodles. They took the “men” from “ramen”, and “ma” from “machiku”. And gradually, the name “menma” spread throughout Japan by word of mouth, and became the name we know today. Because we are the godparents of menma, we feel more passionately about our products than any other manufacturer.
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