Japanese Confectionary
"Wagashi" is the Japanese confectionary most often served during the
tea ceremony or other ceremonial occasions. Wagashi's origins date back as far as when the earliest inhabitants to Japan. Wagashi was mainly sweetened with dried fruits until the Edo period (17th to 19th century) when sugar from sugarcane became widely available. This subsequently led to a substantial increase in the production of wagashi.
Appearance is an important factor in wagashi. Shapes, colors, and designs of wagashi are inspired by literature and/or paintings and wagashi are often made in the shapes of fruits, flowers, animals, and sometimes scenery.
Wagashi's main ingredients include beans (red beans, kidney beans, etc), grains (flour, wheat), kanten (gelatin made from seaweed), sweet potatoes, nuts and sesameseeds.
These ingredients are rich in vegetable protein and low in animal fat. So you need not worry about calories as much as other sweets such as chocolate, candy, butter, cake, etc.
There are many kinds of wagashi but the following are three of the most famous: higashi (a dried confectionery containing almost no moisture and thus relatively long lasting), namagashi (sweets used in the Japanese tea ceremony), and manju (dumplings-like sweets).
Namagashi may contain fruit jellies or sweetened bean paste. As its name nama (lit. "raw") implies, namagashi keeps only about 1 to 2 days. Manju is probably the most popular confectionery and it looks like a dumpling whose outside is made from steamed flour and inside is stuffed with a sweet bean paste filling.
The following are some places to enjoy making or tasting wagashi.
<Kyoto Sweets Cooking Lessons>
Shichijo-kanshun-do
Address: 551 Nishinomon-cho Honmachi-higashi-iru Nanajo-dori Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
Tel: 075-541-3771
Fax: 075-525-1566
Fees: 2,100 yen/person
Time required: 60-90 minutes
Reservations necessary
Closed: 12/24-1/4
Yatsuhashi-an & Shisyu-yakata
Address: 36 Nishikoromode-cho Nishikyogoku Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 615-0877
Tel: 075-313-2151
Fax: 075-311-9581
Fees: 840 yen/person (namayatsuhashi)
1,000 yen/person (manju)
1,300 yen/person (Nerikiri cakes,namagashi)
