While the fortune cookie — a beloved staple in Chinese American dining — is commonly linked to China, the auspicious treat surprisingly traces its roots to a completely different country, according to researchers on the subject. Where it started: Evidence uncovered by folklorist Yasuko Nakamachi in the early 2000s point to late 19th century Japan as seeing the origins of the fortune cookie. Aside from finding the persuasive illustration, Nakamachi in the late 1990s was able to visit a family bakery — Sohonke Hogyokudo — near a Shinto shrine in Kyoto that sold similarly-shaped cookies with written fortunes for decades.