As far back as the 19th century, a cookie very similar in appearance to the modern fortune cookie was made in
Kyoto, Japan, and there is a Japanese temple tradition of random fortunes, called
omikuji. The Japanese version of the cookie differs in several ways: they are a little bit larger; are made of darker dough; and their batter contains sesame and miso. They contain a fortune; however, the small slip of paper was wedged into the bend of the cookie rather than placed inside the hollow portion. This kind of cookie is called and is still sold in some regions of Japan, especially in
Kanazawa, Ishikawa. It is also sold in the neighborhood of
Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine in Kyoto.
Makoto Hagiwara of
Golden Gate Park's
Japanese Tea Garden in
San Francisco is reported to have been the first person in the U.S. to have served the modern version of the cookie when he did so at the tea garden in the early 1900s. The fortune cookies were made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo. David Jung, founder of the
Hong Kong Noodle Company in
Los Angeles, made a competing claim that he invented the cookie in 1918. San Francisco's
Court of Historical Review attempted to settle the dispute in 1983. During the proceedings, a fortune cookie was introduced as a piece of evidence with a message reading, "S.F. Judge who rules for L.A. Not Very Smart Cookie". A federal judge of the Court of Historical Review, from San Francisco themselves, determined that the cookie originated with Hagiwara and the court ruled in favor of San Francisco. Subsequently, the city of Los Angeles condemned the decision. Up to around
World War II, fortune cookies were known as "fortune tea cakes"—likely reflecting their origins in Japanese tea cakes. The fortune cookie industry changed dramatically after the fortune cookie machine was invented by Edward Louie in the late 1960s. The machine allowed for mass production of fortune cookies which subsequently allowed the cookies to drop in price to become the novelty and courtesy dessert many Americans are familiar with after their meals at most Chinese restaurants today. == Manufacturers ==