Fortune cookies are a ubiquitous part of meals in almost every Chinese restaurant in America. We often laugh at the hokey fortunes found in these little cookies but give little thought to their origin. Many of us assume that it is a Chinese tradition but it is actually not a Chinese invention. In fact, the beginnings of the fortune cookie can be traced back to Japan of the 19^th century.

A cookie similar to the fortune cookie we are familiar with began in Kyoto, Japan where it was tradition in temples to put random fortunes called omikuji in them. Their cookies were made with miso and sesame and darker dough instead of the vanilla and butter in the American style of fortune cookie. The fortunes were placed in the bend of the cookie instead of being inserted into the hollow opening.

The majority of people claiming credit for bringing the cookie to the U.S. are Japanese with the idea that they modified the cookie design they used in their native land. The first person to have served the Americanized cookie is thought to be Makoto Hagiwara at the turn of the 20^th century. He provided them to customers at his restaurant the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco.

Another claim was made by David Jung who founded the Hong Kong Noodle Company in the city of Los Angeles. He asserts that he invented the cookie in 1918 as a way to help the poor who passed his store. He handed the cookies out to them free of charge and they contained an inspirational bible message written for Jung by a minister.

Seeichi Kito, owner Fugetsu-do in L.A.s Little Tokyo, claims to have introduced the cookie to America. He says he got the idea from the cookies containing the omikuji that were sold at temples in Japan. He claims to have provided the cookies to Chinese restaurants in L.A and San Francisco which is why they have become so identified as a Chinese item.

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Prior to the 20th century, the fortune cookies were made by hand and were more regional and less widely available. A man named Shuck Yee from Oakland, California invented a machine that mass produced the cookies. This resulted in lower prices and wide availability so the cookies have become the familiar novelty we expect at the end of our meal at Chinese restaurants around the country. Visit the History Store for historical gifts and museum quality replicas representing the most significant historical eras.

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