paste products; fish paste; sweets made from paste
Refers to food items made by kneading ingredients into a paste, such as fish cakes (kamaboko), steamed fish paste, or confectionery like yōkan. A culinary category term.
Kamaboko and chikuwa are types of paste products.
This shop sells handmade paste products.
parade float; procession float
Refers to a float in a festival parade, often elaborately decorated and sometimes made with kneaded materials. The connection to 'kneading' is historical; modern floats may use various construction methods.
At the festival, a large parade float paraded through the town.
This float was made by craftsmen over half a year.
Standard modern spelling for paste products and parade floats.
Abbreviated spelling; uncommon.
Older variant using 煉; rarely seen today.
Compound of 練り (kneading) + 物 (thing). Literally 'kneaded thing', referring originally to food items made by kneading, and later extended to parade floats that were historically constructed using kneaded materials.