If you’ve ever finished a meal at a Chinese restaurant in the United States, you’ve likely cracked open a crisp, golden fortune cookie to reveal a vague prophecy or a lucky number. It’s a ritual as American as apple pie—and, as it turns out, just about as Chinese as apple pie, too.
Contrary to popular belief, the fortune cookie is not a Chinese invention. In fact, if you were to travel to mainland China and ask for one, you’d likely be met with confused stares. The true story of the fortune cookie is a fascinating tale of immigration, adaptation, and a little bit of historical confusion that traces its roots back not to Beijing or Shanghai, but to the temples of Kyoto, Japan.
The Japanese Connection: Tsujiura Senbei
The ancestor of the modern fortune cookie is a Japanese cracker called tsujiura senbei (fortune cracker). These crackers have been made in Kyoto, Japan, since at least the 19th century—decades before they appeared in America.
Unlike the vanilla-flavored, butter-yellow cookies we know today, the original Japanese versions were larger, darker, and made with sesame and miso rather than vanilla and butter. The fortune wasn’t tucked inside the hollow center but was instead wedged into the fold of the cracker.
Did You Know?
Illustrations from a 1878 Japanese book of stories, Moshiogusa Kinsei Kidan, depict an apprentice making these very crackers, proving their existence long before their American debut.
In Japan, these crackers were traditionally sold at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. The "fortunes" inside were often poetic verses or advice, similar to the omikuji (fortune slips) you can still draw at Japanese temples today.
The American Dream: San Francisco vs. Los Angeles
So, how did a Japanese temple snack become a staple of Chinese-American dining? The answer lies in the complex history of immigration in California.
There are two main claimants to the "invention" of the fortune cookie in America, and the debate has been as heated as a wok on high flame.
The San Francisco Claim
Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant who designed the famous Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, is often credited with introducing the cookie in the United States. Legend has it that around 1914, after being fired by an anti-Japanese mayor and later reinstated, Hagiwara created a modified version of the Japanese cracker to thank those who had stood by him. He placed a thank-you note inside, and thus, the modern fortune cookie was born.
The Los Angeles Claim
David Jung, a Chinese immigrant and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles, also claimed to have invented the cookie in 1918. His story is that he created the cookies with inspirational Bible verses to hand out to the unemployed and homeless on the streets of LA.
In 1983, the Court of Historical Review in San Francisco held a mock trial to settle the dispute. The judge (who, it should be noted, was a San Francisco native) ruled in favor of San Francisco and Hagiwara. However, the historical evidence strongly points to the Japanese origin regardless of which city served it first.
The Twist of Fate: World War II
If fortune cookies are Japanese, why are they served in Chinese restaurants? The shift happened during one of the darkest chapters of American history: World War II.
Before the war, fortune cookies were primarily manufactured and sold by Japanese-American bakeries. However, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans.
With Japanese bakers sent to internment camps, production of the cookies halted. Seeing a gap in the market and a rising demand from American servicemen and workers who enjoyed the treat, Chinese-American businessmen stepped in. They took over the production, and because Chinese food was growing rapidly in popularity, the cookies became inextricably linked with Chinese cuisine in the American consciousness.
By the time the war ended and Japanese Americans were released, the "Chinese fortune cookie" was already an established cultural icon.
Modern Manufacturing: The Fold Heard 'Round the World
In the early days, folding fortune cookies was a labor-intensive manual process. Workers had to quickly fold the hot, soft cookies around the slip of paper before they hardened—a painful and slow task.
In the 1960s, the industry was revolutionized by Edward Louie, the owner of the Lotus Fortune Cookie Company in San Francisco, who invented an automatic fortune cookie machine. Today, machines can churn out thousands of cookies per hour, ensuring that no takeout meal is incomplete.
A Global Phenomenon (Except in China)
Today, billions of fortune cookies are produced annually, with the vast majority consumed in the United States. They have spread to other Western countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia, often following the footprint of the Chinese diaspora.
However, in China itself, they remain largely a novelty. When Wonton Food, the largest fortune cookie manufacturer in the world, attempted to introduce them to the Chinese market in the 1990s, the project failed. Diners considered them "too American" and were confused by the concept of eating a dessert with a piece of paper inside.
Conclusion: A Symbol of Cultural Fusion
The fortune cookie is a perfect symbol of the American immigrant experience: born from Japanese tradition, popularized by Chinese entrepreneurs, and consumed by millions of Americans of all backgrounds. It is a unique culinary hybrid that tells a story of adaptation, resilience, and the blending of cultures.
So, the next time you crack open that golden shell and read your fortune, remember that you’re not just eating a cookie—you’re biting into a fascinating piece of history that crossed an ocean and survived a war to tell you that "a thrilling time is in your immediate future."
