Which Japanese rice ball dish is filled with tempura shrimp?

The Japanese rice ball filled with tempura shrimp is called tenmusu.

Tenmusu combines onigiri, the Japanese rice ball, with ebi tempura. A piece of fried shrimp is tucked inside seasoned or plain rice, which is then shaped by hand and commonly wrapped in nori. The crisp coating, soft rice, and salty seaweed make it a compact snack or bento item.

The dish originated in the Mie Prefecture region, but it is especially associated today with Nagoya cuisine in central Japan. Its name is a contraction of “tempura” and “musubi,” another Japanese term for a rice ball. It is often sold at specialty shops, train stations, and food counters.

Tenmusu is easy to confuse with inarizushi, which places sushi rice inside a pouch of sweetened fried tofu, or yaki onigiri, which is grilled rather than filled with shrimp tempura. Sekihan is rice cooked with azuki beans and is unrelated to tenmusu.