Since 1986, the Iwama family has been providing the residents of Wakabayashi Ward in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, with handmade traditional Japanese sweets.

In the midst of Japan¡¯s bubble economy, founder Yoshio Iwama revamped his sushi-ya (sushi restaurant) into Sendai Dango Ichifuku in order to guarantee a more stable source of income. Dango dumplings are usually made from mochiko (sticky rice flour), but after a bit of experimenting Yoshio was able to find a way of making dango with his leftover Sasanishiki sushi rice.

Simply referred to as Dango Ichifuku by its longtime regulars, the store was modernized by Iwama¡¯s three children in 2017 while still preserving the traditional methods and values passed on by their father.