Learn more about the history and cultural significance of Wagashi, Japanese confectioneries. From local specialties, seasonal varieties to the everyday desserts, you’d gain a much deeper appreciation as you enjoy the sweets year round.
You may have seen beautiful pieces of sweets displayed at a confectionery section of Japanese department stores or supermarkets. Some resemble motifs from nature such as flowers, leaves or fruits. It may be made of bean paste, mochi or jelly-like substance. They look more like miniature pieces of art. Are they really edible, you wonder. And does it taste as good as it looks?!
Called Wagashi (和菓子), these Japanese confectioneries carries a rich history entwined with Japanese culture. There’s more than meets the eye (and stomach)!
In this two-part series on Wagashi, let’s first explore its cultural and historical significance to the Japanese.
What is Wagashi?
The term Wagashi encompasses all Japanese desserts, from the tea ceremony delicacies to the everyday desserts. You may have seen them featured in Japanese movies or dramas, such as Dango (団子 skewered mochi balls), Dorayaki (どら焼き mini pancakes sandwiching a sweet filling), or Sakura Mochi (桜餅 cherry blossom pink mochi with red bean paste inside).
Compared to European desserts, which is characterized by the abundance of butter and eggs, traditional Wagashi calls for minimal oil, spices, and dairy products. The main ingredients are grains such as wheat or rice, starches from beans such as red beans and soybeans, and sugar.
Wagashi comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but most are small enough to be eaten within two or three bites.
Wagashi and Japanese Tea Ceremony
How does wagashi pertain to Japanese tea ceremony? In a Japanese tea ceremony (茶道) context, Wagashi is served to accompany and complement the bitter taste of Matcha (抹茶 Japanese green tea made from powdered young green tea leaves). Wagashi is always consumed before the Matcha is served, and never together.
The deep appreciation of the seasons is reflected in the aesthetics of Wagashi. For example, you may see plum blossoms and cherry blossoms motifs in the spring, young green bamboo leaves and fireworks in the summer, autumn foliage, and the harvest moon in the fall, and snow in the winter.
However, Wagashi isn’t limited to the tea ceremony scene; it can be eaten like any other dessert for your midday, afternoon tea or a post-meal dessert. You don’t need to pull out your matcha whisk and bowl; you can pair it with other types of green tea, non-green teas, coffee, or whatever you prefer!
To understand the world of Wagashi, let’s first understand its history.
The History of Wagashi
As stated above, the history of Wagashi and Japanese tea ceremony (茶道) are intricately linked. It’s impossible to separate the two when approaching their respective origins.
Ancient artifacts have shown that the Japanese have been craving for sweetness, back to the Yayoi period (300 B.C.-300 A.C.) where the people ate the natural sweetness found in fruits and nuts.
Trade with the Sui and Tang Dynasties during the Asuka period (538-710) brought back various types of Chinese confectioneries. One called Kara-kudamono (唐果物), a type of deep fried mochi made from rice, wheat, and soybeans, is said to be the origins of Wagashi. However, these delicacies were served at the Imperial Court and religious deities, and not circulated among the commoners. Sugar was a luxury import good that was rare, and its primary use was for medicine.
Different types of Kara-Kudamon (Source)
Tea was introduced from China around the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and the habit of drinking tea by Zen monks is established around this time. As part of the ritual, a simple meal called Tenshin (点心 dim sum) and snacks were served. As sugar was still not easily available, the sweet substance was made of the sap of grape ivy (甘葛). The meal served with the tea ceremony (茶席) becomes more elaborate during the Muromachi period (1336-1573), as Zen becomes connected with the upper Samurai class.
The availability of sugar becomes more widespread due to the Portuguese merchants, who introduced new culture and cuisine to the Japanese. The Japanese aristocracy was hungry for Portuguese delicacies, and they adapted it into what was called Nanbangshi (南蛮菓子). These exotic sugar and egg loaded desserts such as Castella (カステラ) and Kompeito (金平糖) (from the Portuguese confectionery ‘Comfit’) were only for the nobility.
The Burgeoning of Wagashi in Japan
The demand and production of Wagashi exploded during the Edo period (1603-1867), due to the widespread commercialization throughout the country and significant improvement in agricultural productivity. Sugarcane from Okinawa and Shikoku, and processed white sugar became available in the capital (Edo) and Kyoto. This spurred the development of new Wagashi specialty stores. In parallel, the culture of tea ceremony also flourished, where serving delicious sweets became one of the most important aspects of the ceremony.
Edo period booklets depicting various types of Wagashi (Source).
With the fierce competition among Wagashi confectioners to meet their hungry customers’ demand, different styles with intricate designs became popular. Kyoto-styled Wagashi called Kyo-gashi (京菓子) was the beautiful pieces of edible art for tea ceremony, whereas the middle-class Edo (Tokyo) craved for the more simple and approachable Jyo-gashi (上菓子).
The term Wagashi was born during the Meiji era (1868-1912), during the era of rapid modernization and westernization. Like how Washoku (和食) was a term to distinguish from foreign food cultures, Wagashi – wa (和 Japanese) and kashi/gashi (菓子 sweets) – was born.
Ready for More?
The traditions of Wagashi still lives on to the present day. If you’re visiting Japan, stop by a tea shop to sample a few pieces with a cup of tea. You can find shops and stores serving up wagashi in major tourist areas like Kyoto and Kanazawa and big department stores. If you’re in a small town, do check out the local varieties. Some places offer classes on how to whisk a cup of matcha!
The next post will cover more on the different varieties and categories of Wagashi. Thank you for reading until the end and stay tuned for Part 2!
Sources:
- The Essence of Japanese Cuisine: An Essay on Food and Culture (Source)
- The Japan Wagashi Association (Source)
- National Diet Library, Japan (Source)
- Wagashi: Japanese traditional sweets or works of art? (Source)
- 全国菓子工業組合連合会(全菓連) (Source)
I am a sansei who grew up with not much of a Japanese-based background for cooking. I so very much appreciate your website and blog and look forward to everything you publish. I am a 70-year-young Deacon in a Christian Presbyterian church that has roots in the Pasadena, California area. Our parents settled here after World War II as did many other niseis.
Currently I am in charge of “Caring Cooks” a small group of church members that prepares a bento-style lunch for those that are homebound or in assisted-living facilities. The niseis are in their 90s and appreciate Japanese dishes. I look forward to trying out your recipes for sushi and the many other dishes you have prepared on your blog. This month I will prepare some miso vegetable pickles, chirashi and, hopefully, a confection from today’s blog.
Again, thank you for helping me to become the “Japanese” I was meant to be. I would appreciate more information on your cookbooks so I can refer to them often.
Hi Virginia! Thank you so much for your kind words. We’re happy to hear you enjoy our contents on JOC.
Thank you for sharing “Caring Cooks” with us. What a wonderful group of people! I receive a lot of feedback from Sansei and Yonsei wanting to learn Japanese food to feed their parents and grandparents who wish to eat only Japanese food (I can relate, too; I get older and I miss food I grew up eating). I believe what you do really brings joy in their life.
Unfortunately, I only sell e-Cookbook, and not a hard book. Maybe one day…
Thank you very much for your kind note. Please feel free to reach out to me if you need any information, etc. 🙂
Good informative article and am looking forward to part 2! I saw how the seasons are important to the making of wagashi and its relationship with the tea ceremony from an older drama from about 10 years ago called Ando Natsu (a girl’s name and the running joke was her parents must have loved donuts to name her that!) The lead played a jobless patissiere that found work assisting an old wagashi shop in Asakusa and ended up learning the craft. The drama highlighted how much thought and effort goes into making the sweets and was very interesting.
Hi Roy!
Thank you for your comment and yes, please stayed tuned for part 2! I watched Ando Natsu ages ago, such a cute drama! I don’t remember a crazy plot line, but it was a great insight into the world of wagashi. Too bad there hasn’t been any good dramas focusing on wagashi as of late… “Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman” has some episodes of Wagashi shops…
– Kayoko
Fascinating, thank you for the lesson!
Hi Kevin!
Thanks for reading and for your comment 🙂
– Kayoko
Thank you so much for this informative wagashi article – the photos are beautiful! I took a wagashi cooking class the last time I was in Tokyo and if your readers visit Tokyo, I highly recommend it. I gave my creations to my son and his Japanese wife, and they thought I had bought them at a wagashi shop! I was so happy!! The cooking school is Buddha Bellies Cooking School and they offer several different one-day classes. It was a lot of fun and it was nice meeting other people from around the world who were interested in Japanese cooking, too.
Hello Shirley! Thank you for your comment! A wagashi class is definitely one way to learn and appreciate the craft of these edible delights, so glad to hear you enjoyed your class! -Kayoko
Thank you for your response and the information about the classes you took, Shirley. I’d like to take a class one day.
Wow, what a fun post! I learned a TON — thanks. 🙂
Hi John! Thank you for your comment! There will be a part 2 so please stay tuned 😀
Very interesting article about wagashi. Thanks for always enlightening us, readers. Arigato.
Jolene
Hi Jolene, thank you for reading and for your comment! Please stay tuned for Part 2 (coming soon)! – Kayoko
Hola
Me gustó mucho su publicación.
Donde puedo leer la siguiente?
Gracias y disculpe
Hola Gian, muchas gracias for your comment. Please also read Wagashi part 2 for more.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/wagashi-varieties/
Wagashi article is so beautiful with nice product photos.
I really miss Japanese confections.
Hi Fumiko, thank you for comment! If you’re missing Wagashi and can’t buy them, please check out Nami’s recipes to recreate them at home. Good luck!