Language ▼Japanese sweets
History and Culture
The history of Japanese confectionery dates back to B.C. This theory is based on the fact that mochi, which is said to be Japan's oldest processed food, was made at that time and that people ate nuts ground into a powdery state and rolled into balls after removal of impurities. As time passed, mochi rooted in each region in keeping with the change of the food culture. Dango using nuts has been passed down to today as a traditional food culture. In some regions, people eat dango that uses acorn (called donguri or shidami).
Later, Japan promoted the cultural interaction with China by sending the envoys to Tang Dynasty China. Chinese confection called "buto" that envoys brought back to Japan became the offerings to shrines and household Shinto alters.
One theory says that manju was first introduced to Japan by Rin Join, who came from China in the Muromachi era. (The other theory says that manju was introduced by the monk Enni, who returned from China and brought manju to Fukuoka.)
In the Muromachi era to the Azuchi-momoyama era, the tea ceremony culture developed mainly in the samurai society. Along with it, making of confections offered at tea ceremony intensified, and the import of sugar drastically increased. Wagashi (traditional Japanese confections) evolved with the passage of time. The influence of the western confections called namban-gashi, development of a distribution system for supply of ingredients and advancement of production technology have shaped the diversified world of Japanese confectionery we enjoy today.
Though the isolation policy in the Edo era interrupted cultural interaction with foreign countries except in some locations, the taste for food became refined and the confectionery craftsmen competed with each other for better techniques and skills. The Edo era was said to be the time when the unique enriched Japanese culture flourished. The production of sugar, which had been imported, started in the Edo era, too. Therefore, the influence of the Edo era was significant.
In and after the Meiji era, the types of baked confections mainly increased with the introduction of machines. The culture of eating confections spread across Japan and the custom of eating confections was established. New types of confections have continued to be born since then.
On November 17, 2022, some of wet confections along with the production technique, were registered as an intangible cultural asset as "half-wet confectionery with confectionery name (nerikiri and konashi).
Characteristics and Types
[Types of wagashi]
There is no standard definition of wagashi, so the detailed ingredients or production processes differ depending on who makes it or where it is made.
For example, manju is a confection which has bean paste wrapped with outer skin (dough). Some are made by steaming and others by baking. The ingredients of bean paste vary, including adzuki bean (koshian and tsubushian), green pea (shiroan), chestnut, sesame, yuzu citrus, matcha and miso. The outer skin is mainly made of wheat flour or rice flour. Some are mixed with brown sugar, miso or alcohol.
The same is true of yokan. Some uses adzuki bean paste or white kidney bean paste like manju. The other uses matcha, kombu seaweed or sesame to mix with paste. There are yokan made with chestnut or dried persimmon. In this way, the examples of manju and yokan only tell us how diverse wagashi are.
There are so many wagashi that have regional characteristics or unique ingredients or are related to annual events or seasonality. Though the types of wagashi are actually countless, they are largely classified as follows.
| Types | Example |
|---|---|
| Mochimono (confection made with rice-based mochi) | Kashiwamochi, daifuku, ohagi, etc. |
| Mushimono (confection made by steaming) | Mushi-manju, kuri-mushi-yokan, etc. |
| Yakimono(Hiranabemono ) | Dorayaki, sakuramochi, etc. |
| Yakimono(Obunmono ) | Kurimanju, castella, etc. |
| Nagashimono (confection made by pouring ingredients into a mold) | Yokan, etc. |
| Nerimono (confection made by shaping bean paste) | Nerikiri, konashi, etc. |
| Okamono (confection made by combining separate ingredients) | Monaka, etc. |
| Uchimono (confection that is placed in a mold and hardened through beating) | Rakugan, etc. |
[Representation of Seasons and Connection with Lifestyle]
One of the characteristics of the culture of eating wagashi nurtured over a long history is a representation of seasons. The Japanese have appreciated the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter, and wagashi has represented the changing the seasons.
In addition, wagashi is essential to annual seasonal events and thus its culture has developed in close connection with the Japanese lifestyle.
The following 1) to 3) selectively describe some of such seasonal representation.
Confections mainly representing the seasonality of ingredients
| Month | Example |
|---|---|
| January | Hanabiramochi,etc |
| February | Uguisumochi, kusamochi, etc. |
| March | Kusamochi, sakuramochi, etc. |
| April | Hanamidango, itadaki, etc. |
| May | Kashiwamochi, chimaki, etc. |
| June | Wakaayu (yakiayu), etc. |
| July | Kuzuzakura, mizuyokan, etc. |
| August | Kibimochi, higashi (dry confection), zundamochi, etc. |
| September | Mitarashidango, ohagi, etc. |
| October | Kuri-mushi-yokan, kurikinton, etc. |
| November | Imoyokan, kintsuba, etc. |
| December | Zenzai, yuzukan, etc. |
Confections representing the customs or scenes of each season (Mainly made by nerikiri or konashi; changing seasons are represented by the color or shape even if the ingredients of bean paste are the same)
| Season | Customs |
|---|---|
| January - March | Pine tree, bamboo, Japanese apricot blossom, crane, turtle, peach, cherry blossom, etc. |
| April - June | Sweetfish, moss phlox, shellfish, etc. |
| July - September | Whirl, clear stream, firefly, wild chestnut, etc. |
| October - December | Persimmon, autumn leaves, snow, etc. |
Production Methods
As described in the previous section, there is no standard definition of wagashi. So, the detailed ingredients or production processes differ depending on who makes it or where it is made. Ingredients and production methods of wagashi are excerpted and described in this section.
[Ingredients]
Though there are no specific rules concerning the ingredients, animal-derived ingredients are rarely used except for chicken eggs.
Commonly used ingredients for bean paste include; beans (adzuki bean, white adzuki bean, kidney beans, peas, etc.), rice (glutinous rice, non-glutinous rice, etc.), rice flour (rice ground into flour as is or after heating, steaming or baking), wheat flour, sugar (caster sugar, granulated sugar, brown sugar, refined Japanese sugar, etc.), agar-agar, kudzu starch, chestnuts, tubers and roots, persimmons, Japanese apricots, sesame, matcha, and chicken eggs.
[How to make bean paste]
Azuki koshian is a paste made by boiling adzuki beans until soft, carefully removing the skins, adding water and sugar, and then kneading the mixture while heating.
Azuki tsubushian is a paste made by boiling adzuki beans until soft, adding water and sugar with the skins still attached, and then kneading the mixture while heating.
Shiroan is a paste made in the same way with azuki koshian using kidney beans. With green peas used, it is called uguisuan.
Nerikirian is a paste made with Chinese yams that are strained and mixed with shiroan.
Matchaan is a paste made by mixing with shiroan, adding water, matcha and sugar, and kneading the mixture while heating.
Making bean paste does not need many steps, but requires professional skills. It is said the type or moistness of ingredients, heat control, heating time, adjustment of moisture, or addition of sugar significantly changes the quality.
Relationship with Regions
Among wagashi, several regional confections that are closely related to the region or have a unique production method or history are introduced. Unlike the confections introduced in the previous section, which are limited to those developed by professional craftsmen or at confectionery shops, this section introduces confections developed at home or in a region in reflection of the regionality in Japan.
[Bekomochi(Aomori Prefecture)](*Link to Our Regional Cuisines)
Made by mixing and steaming glutinous rice flour, non-glutinous rice flour, water and sugar. It is said to have been originally brought to this region as "kujiramochi" via Kitamaebune, a carrier ship sailing the Sea of Japan. It has developed as a confection with illustrated patterns. The name came from a pattern that looks like spots of cows (locally called "beko"). Though bekomochi was originally made to celebrate the Boy's Festival, it is now eaten as a daily confection. Various modern designed ones are created today.
[Ganzuki(Iwate Prefecture)] (*Link to Our Regional Cuisines)
The name of "ganzuki" came from its shape, which looks like geese (gan) flying towards the full moon (tsuki). It is made by steaming wheat flour, sugar, chicken eggs, baking soda and vinegar to make it puff up. It contains sesame and walnuts. As it stays in the stomach long, it has been eaten as a light lunch.
[Iga manju (Saitama Prefecture)] (*Link to Our Regional Cuisines)
Iga manju is a steamed manju with adzuki bean paste covered with cooked red rice. The name comes from the fact that it looks like the iga (bur). It has been eaten as a good luck charm for festivals or celebrations.
[Castella(Nagasaki Prefecture)] (*No link)
Castella is a confection made by mixing wheat flour, chicken eggs, sugar, starch syrup and honey and baking the mixture in an oven.
Nagasaki was the only place open to the western countries for cultural interaction for about 200 years from the 16th century in Japan. The Portuguese and Spanish cultures, and then the Dutch and Chinese (Qin Dynasty) cultures arrived in the Edo era. Among them, castella was rooted as the food culture in Nagasaki and then spread to the other parts of Japan. Castella, which was originally a Spanish confection, has uniquely developed as a Japanese confection.
Reference
"Wagashi" Tokyo Wagashi Association
