Japanese Traditional Culture

Chu-chan’s “Go Straight Towards Japanese Traditional Culture” 【Part 7】 Sweets that Embrace the Beauty of the Seasons

Kondo Chuji = Director of Japan Traditional Culture Testing Association

The “Kyoto Yosuga" sweets from “Kamesuehiro“, a long-established Japanese confectionery store in Kyoto, change their flavors depending on the season. From the left, the spring and autumn products.

They are so beautiful that it's a shame to put them in your mouth, and so delicious that it's a shame to send them to your tasteless stomach. Japanese sweets are something that you can enjoy as you rinse your mouth with tea and indulge in a moment of bliss, thinking that you're glad to have been born in Japan. By the way, what do you think is the first training that the successor to a long-established Japanese sweets shop undertakes?

In fact, it's not about making sweet bean paste or rolling buns. The correct answer is sketching. Sketching plants in the garden and going into the fields to paint the landscape. That's the first training for the person who will become the owner of a long-established Japanese confectionery shop, and it's a daily routine that will continue until the next generation takes over. By going outside and painting the scenery, you can feel the changing of the seasons and learn about the shapes and colors depicted in nature. In the process, you can develop an aesthetic sense rooted in nature and apply it to making sweets.

One of the events that seems to be unique to Japanese sweets is the making of “Theme Sweets". Each shop makes elaborately designed Japanese sweets according to the imperial theme of the Imperial Poetry Contest and presents them on New Year's Day. Other than the theme, there are no other restrictions. They can be made with any amount of ingredients, be it a bun or a dried confectionery, and be of any color or shape. Because of this freedom, the sweets can reflect not only the aesthetic sense of the shop owner, but also his or her culture and personality. It seems that sometimes a competition is held where people bring their works, but it is said that the most frightening thing is the unspoken opinions of customers who come to buy the theme sweets in anticipation of the criticism. Can the intention be conveyed to the tastes, eyes, and cultured sensibilities of connoisseurs? This is where the skill of the Japanese sweets craftsman can be shown.

What makes this event possible is the owner's sketches, as mentioned earlier. More specifically, I think it's the Japanese sense of beauty that is rooted in nature, something that usually goes unnoticed, and the free-spiritedness that is symbolized by Oribe ware. Unconventionality while keeping in mind the format. Theme sweets are a perfect way to enjoy this.

It's not just the theme sweets. All Wagashi (Japanese sweets) tell us about the season and allow us to enjoy it more deeply. Hanabiramochi for New Year. Sakuramochi and Sanshokudango in spring. Chimaki and Kashiwamochi for Boys' Festival. In summer, mizu-yokan, kudzu-jelly and tokoroten cool down a hot body. Eating chestnut-kinton tells us that autumn, a time of bountiful harvest, has arrived. Even year-round sweets such as manju, uchigashi and yokan change appearance and taste depending on the season, allowing us to enjoy the four seasons.

The photo shows “Kyo no Yosuga" from “Kamesuehiro”, a confectioner in Kyoto. Affectionately known locally as “Yonjohan," the shop is known for completely changing its look 14 times a year. Ariheito, Kangoori, Gyuhi-mochi, Nerikiri, Rakugan, Suhama, Shouro, Unpei, Katakuri, Minced Soy Sauce, and Seed Awase... Each is made with the highest level of technique and is completely different in appearance and taste, but together they represent the changing seasons of Kyoto.

By the way, Kamesuehiro also has a large rice cracker called “Kyo no Tsuchi". At first glance, this one looks so dried out that it doesn't look like a sweet, just like its name suggests. From colorful sweets reminiscent of the Impressionists to sweets that look like ink paintings, Japanese sweets can be said to be extremely picturesque.

Come to think of it, perhaps influenced by the picturesque freedom of Japanese sweets, Western sweets in Japan have somehow become the most beautiful, cute, and delicious in the world. The day when Japanese sweets will captivate the world is probably not far off.