Japanese Sweets

Japanese Sweets in the Tea Ceremony

2012-02-16T01:16:00.000+09:00

In the tea ceremony, it is necessary to serve Japanese sweets which emphasize tea flavor. Such Japanese sweets is especially called tyagashi. Tyagashi is generally seasonal sweets and casually associated with charm of each of the four seasons. Of course, hot sweets is served in the cold weather, and cool sweets is served in the hot weather. In addition to this, the tea ceremony themes its sweets.

The tyagashi is classified into two types: omogashi and higashi.
Omogashi is the main sweets and voluminous, but it is made with no butter, cheese or fat. For example, manju (buns with bean-jam filling), yokan (bars of sweet jellied azuki-bean paste), kinton (mashed sweet potatoes), neriki (cakes made of white bean jam which is artistically colored or shaped) and so on. And they have beautiful kamei. In addition to this, there are various features of omogashi as follows:

　　　　・It has a gentler fragrance (reserved fragrance).

　　　　・It is very beautiful to look at.

　　　　・It has a texture melting in the mouth.

　　　　・It is casually associated with charm of each of the four seasons.

Higashi is dried or desiccated sweets. For example, rakugan (hard candy), konpeito (small colored sugar candy covered in bulges), rice confectionery and so on.
Normally, higashi is eaten when partaking of light green tea whereas, omogashi is served with the fuller-bodied green tea.

(http://kokorouruoi.blog105.fc2.com/category11-3.html)

Seasonal Japanese Sweets (Winter)

2012-02-07T00:38:00.001+09:00

There are many Japanese sweets made in the image of seasons, because Japan has four seasons and the Japanese are sensitive to the change of them.
In the winter Japanese sweets, snow is often used as a motif. Those sweets are white like snow. For example, yuki-mochi, yuki-botan, yuki-tsubaki, yuki-usagi and so on. Yuki is snow in Japanese. By the way, winter is also the coldest season of the year, so there are hot sweets too; kuzuyu (arrowroot gruel), oshiruko (sweet red-bean soup), zenzai (rice cake with red-bean paste) and so on.

Yuki (snow)

(http://woman.excite.co.jp/blog/kawaii/sid_897425/)

And there are many Japanese sweets related to the traditional events in winter (December, January and February). Especially, many events are concentrated in New Year season. The events and its sweets are follows.

*January*

<New Year's Holidays>
The new year's day is called "gantan" in Japanese. On this day, the Japanese eat special food which are made as a lucky charm for the perfect health over the year and the prosperity of descendants. And "osechi" is the nest of boxes which contains those lucky food, and have been loved for a long time. By the way, these days, there is the osechi which contains many Japanese sweets. It is very colorful and gaining popularity. Of course, there are some sweets regarded as lucky charm too. For example, hanabira-mochi (flower petal rice cake) is the most famous in Kyoto. It is eaten at the imperial court and the Shinto shrines since long ago. Eating it is originally the function which is practiced in new year's holiday. This is to pray for a long life by eating it (hard food) and making the teeth stronger.

(http://shop.gnavi.co.jp/bishokucircle/shzn-wagashi2011)

*February*

<setsubun>
Setsubun was originally the day before the beginning of seasons, that is, the day before the first day of spring(rissyun), summer(rikka), autumn(rissyu) or winter(ritto), and means the time of seasonal change. But after the Edo period, setsubun is mainly the day before the first day of spring in particular. And it cames to the festival on February 3. They has believed that orges appear at setsubun, so tried to warding them off. In the setsubun festival, they practice exorcism and avoidance of bad orges by the special way. It is called "mamemaki"(the bean-scattering). They throw roasted soybeans, huku-mame (fortune beans), either out the door or at the person who plays a role of the orges while the people say "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! " (Orges out! Luck in!). Many sweets related to the setsubun festival are used huku-mame as their ingredients or motif.

(http://www.mametomi.co.jp/sub3.html)

Seasonal Japanese Sweets (Autumn)

2012-02-01T01:02:00.000+09:00

There are many Japanese sweets made in the image of seasons, because Japan has four seasons and the Japanese are sensitive to the change of them.
Autumn is the season that people could harvest the most kinds of fruits and nuts in a year. So there are many autumn Japanese sweets used those harvest as motifs and ingredients. For example, kaki (Japanese persimmon), satsumaimo (sweet potato), gin'nan (ginkgo nuts) and kuri (chestnuts). Especially, chestnuts are used to make them. The examples are kuri-manju (buns with bean-jam filling and chestnuts) and kuri-yokan (bar of sweet jellied azuki-bean paste which contain chestnuts).

(http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kty360/36045592.html)

And there are many Japanese sweets related to the traditional events in autumn (September, October and November). The events and its sweets are follows.

*September and October*

<otsukimi>
Otsukimi is the moon-viewing party in the night with a full moon in September. People offer Japanese pampas grass, dumplings, eddo and so on, and enjoy viewing the full moon. There are various Japanese sweets associated with otsukimi, among them, there are many sweets whose motif is rabbit. The reason for this is that the Japanese imagine a rabbit making mochi (rice cakes) when they see the full moon.

(http://www.cims.jp/moon/rabidance/subhtml/toyhtml/tukimi.html)

Seasonal Japanese Sweets (Summer)

2012-01-25T04:15:00.001+09:00

There are many Japanese sweets made in the image of seasons, because Japan has four seasons and the Japanese are sensitive to the change of them.
All the summer Japanese sweets look so cool. Probably because summer is the hottest season of the year, so Japanese wanted the only sweets to look cool. The Japanese sweets which look so cool are mizu-yokan, hakuro and mizubotan, for example. Mizu-yokan is a type of yokan (azuki bean jelly), containing less agar and more water. In summer, they chill and then eat it. Hakuro is made from Japanese yam and shiroan (white bean paste) and so on. The white color of it looks so cool. And mizubotan is made from agar and shiroan which contains dried plum pulp. It looks cool and tastes sour, so it is very preferably eated during summer.

Mizubotan

(http://baigetsu.hamazo.tv/e2186961.html)

And there are many Japanese sweets related to the traditional events in summer (June, July and August). The events and its sweets are follows.

*July*

<tanabata>

Tanabata is the star festival on July 7. They decorate bamboos with colored papers and tanzaku. Tanzaku is long, narrow strips of colored papers and they write their wishes on it. The festival was originally Chinese old festival to plead for good harvest and improving skills. People considered two white stars, Hikoboshi (Altair of Aquila) and Orihime (Vega of Lyra), as the god of agriculture and the god of sericulture, dyeing and weaving, so worship them. In Japan, the festival started as the court event during the Nara period (710~794). According the records written in the Heian period (794~1185), the aspect of pleasure was more emphasized. And it is said that seven plays come to enjoy in the Muromachi period; poetry contest, kemari (Japanese ancient football), go (board game of capturing territory), hana (flower arrangement), kaiawase (Japanese pelmanism with clamshells), yokyu (target practicing game) and ko (incense-smelling ceremony).
By the way, there are many legends related to tanabata around the world. In Japan, the most famous legend among them is the sad love story with orihime and hikoboshi as follows.

Orihime is the daughter of Emperor Tentei. She is a skilled weaver who creates masterful textiles for her father's garments. When it comes to marry, Tentei introduces her to Hikoboshi, a shepherd. Their marriage is so blissful that she begins to neglect her weaving.
Tentei becomes angered by her neglect and banishes them to opposite ends of the galaxy. But her grief is so great that Tentei, her father, finally permits her to be transported by a boatman (the moon) across the river Amanogawa (the Milky Way) to rendezous with Hikoboshi once a year, on July 7 (on the lunar calendar). If it rains on this date, the boatman doesn't appear. Instead, a flock of crows (or magpies) forms a bridge which she walks over.

Around the tanabata season, many Japanese sweets imaged tanabata are sold. All of them is very fantastic and beautiful. Their names are also beautiful.

Amanogawa (the Milky Way)

(http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/aireisenn/25868490.html)

Seasonal Japanese Sweets (Spring)

2012-01-20T13:30:00.001+09:00

There are many Japanese sweets made in the image of seasons, because Japan has four seasons and the Japanese are sensitive to the change of them.
In the seasonal Japanese sweets imaged spring, there are many kinds of them imaged cherry blossoms especially. In addition to this, there are various motifs associated with spring; Japanese apricot, new bamboo shoot which come into bud in spring and so on.

(http://doron.allabout.co.jp/s/060215/)

And there are many Japanese sweets related to the traditional events in spring (March, April and May). The events and its sweets are follows.

*March*

<hina-matsuri >
Hina-matsuri is the dolls' festival on March 3rd. They display hina dolls centering around the doll representing the emperor called obina, and the doll representing the empress called mebina with peach flowers, and enjoy eating and drinking shirozake (sweet white sake). This festival combines playing with the hina dolls and exorcism introduced from China. In the past, they wrote their own birthdays on paper dolls on March 3rd. And they made them their own scapegoats, then, in the evening, they floated them down rivers as they prayed for health. Some Japanese sweets are used as the offerings. For example, uguisu-mochi, sakura-mochi, hishi-mochi and so on. Uguisu-mochi is lapped by gyuhi and shaped like an uguisu (Japanese bush warbler).

(http://www.azabu-aono.com/gift/winter.html)

*May*

<the iris festival>
In the iris festival on May 5, they practice exorcism and avoidance of bad luck with iris and wormwood. Some Japanese sweets have been ate as a celebratory sweets on the day. For example, kashiwa-mochi, chimaki and so on. Kashiwa-mochi is a rice cake wrapped in an oak leaf. By the way, the oak tree have a rare nature. The old leaves never fall before new burgeons have roots in the tree. So it spread as a bringer of good luck which inspired the idea that family line never fails. Chimaki is a rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves. It is said that the custom to eat chimaki on the day is originated from the fact that Qu Yuan, the Chinese patriot poet, died on May 5 and people who loved and respected him threw chimaki into the Miluo river where he jumped into, in order to calm down his soul and as bait for fish so the fish would not eat his body.

What's "Kamei"?

2012-01-09T23:25:00.000+09:00

In the middle of the Edo period, many artistic fields' activities became active, especially the Rinpa group including Korin Ogata. And then the cultural salon centered on them was formed. They valued artistic quality in the Heian dynasty period there. And Japanese sweets also came to make under the new aesthetic values. In that time, many Japanese sweets catalogs with illustrations appeared. Therefore it became common that not only their tastes and but also their appearances were enjoyed. And eventually they also enjoyed the sounds of the name Japanese sweets. They named after various Japanese classic dynastic styled literature; "Genji Monogatari (the Tale of Genji), "Kokin Wakashu (A Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry) and so on. The kamei is the elegant names which named like this and it is very euphonious. In the kamei, the names which named after the emperors of Japan, court nobles and imperial families especially are the onmei.

As follows, the kamei is classified by what they named after. In addition to those, there are various classifies by Chinese classic literature, titles of noh songs daily commodities or clothing.

*plants*

For example, kankobai and natane-no-sato and so on. Kankobai is a kind of the name by ume trees, and blooms in the biting wind. Natane-no-sato is the name based on rape blossoms.

Kankobai

(http://outdoor.geocities.jp/hpmonda/hanajyouhou_2010.html)

Kankobai (Japanese sweet)

(http://moroeya.co.jp/archives/11)

*animals*

For example, uzura-mochi and kujira-mochi. Uzura is quail, thickset bird and kujira is whale. These sweets are similar to quail and whale each other in the shape. And mochi means rice cake.

Uzura

(http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%BA%E3%83%A9)

Uzura-mochi

(http://blog.livedoor.jp/kikyou0123/archives/51136328.html)

*natural phenomena*

For example, harugasumi and usugori. Harugasumi means spring mist and usugori means thin ice originally. These sweets named by liking to those natural phenomena.

Harugasumi

(http://ayaya55a.exblog.jp/8445267/)

Usugori

(http://blog.goo.ne.jp/terumomo1955/e/4306d17911756638d8f590dbf25451a6)

*ingredients and recipes*

For example, kuri-yokan and yuzu-manju. Kuri means chestnuts and yuzu means small citrus fruit originally. And yokan is bars of sweet jellied azuki-bean paste, manju is buns with bean‐jam filling.

*sights*

For example, arashiyama and takao. Both Arashiyama and Takao is the famous sights of Kyoto.

*the famous persons' names*

For example, rikyu-manju and oribe-manju. Rikyu is the great tea master, Sen-no-Rikyu. Oribe is Japanese military commander who loves the tea ceremony.

*scenes*

For example, miyako-no-haru and hatsuhinode. Originally, miyako-no-haru means the spring in the city and hatsuhinode means the first sunrise of the year.

Ingredients of Japanese Sweets

2011-12-20T16:11:00.196+09:00

The most important difference between Japanese sweets and Western-style sweets is their ingredients. For Japanese sweets, it is extremely rare that animal ingredients are used. For example, it isn't common that milk products or animal fat is used to make them. Probably it is only the hen's eggs that will be used for them. In contrast, for Western-style sweets, animal ingredients are mainly used to make them and it is also said that they couldn't be made without milk products; milk, butter and cheese.

Japanese sweets

(http://www.tamachi-baigetsu.co.jp/staff_blog/archives/2010/0129-1600.html)

Western-style sweets

(http://sweets0141.seesaa.net/article/111101487.html)

Here are two important ingredients of Japanese sweets.

*Beans*

Beans are the most important ingredients of Japanese sweets. Most of Japanese sweets contain bean paste, and the beans paste is made mainly from beans. Especially, azuki beans are used for making red beans paste, so they must be essential ingredients for most of Japanese sweets. And the azuki beans could be grown all over Japan. Particularly, in Tanba, Bittyu, and Hokkaido, they are grown very much. The azuki beans made in Hokkaido is about 90% of ones distributed in Japan. Incidentally,the kidney beans are used for making white bean jams.There are other beans as the ingredients of white bean paste; ohukumame, hukushiromame, white beans and so on. Then, the green peas are used for green smooth bean paste, and the red peas are used for mamedaihuku (the rice cakes contain beans), mamekan (the sweets contains beans and cubes of agar gelatin), anmitsu (the sweets made with agar gelatin and fruits, and covered with bean paste).
And the kinako (sweet soybean flour) is also made from beans. It is made by parching and grinding soybeans. It is used for ohagi (rice ball) and so on.

azuki

(http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%82%BA%E3%82%AD)

*Rice flour*

The grain that is most often used for Japanese sweets is rice; non-glutinous rice and glutinous rice especially. The two is different in character each other. And their characters also change by grinding in raw or heated. So rice flour is distinguished by the way it's heated and the size of it.
Both joshinko and joyoko are made by grinding raw non-glutinous rice. The sweets used joshinko are more hard to chew. For example, dumplings and kashiwamochi (rice cakes wrapped in an oak leaf). In contrast, the sweets used joyoko are softer.
Both shiratamako and gyuhiko are made by grinding raw glutinous rice. They are used to make rice-flour dumplings, habutae-mochi and so on.
Kanbaiko, domyojiko and jonanko are made by adding water, heating and then grinding glutinous rice. Kanbaiko is also called yakimijinko and used to make rakugan (hard candy), yubeshi (sweet yuzu-flavoured steamed dumpling) and so on. Jonanko is finer than kanbaiko. Domyojiko is made by steaming glutinous rice, heating or drying, and grinding coarsely. It is used to make sakura-mochi (rice cake with bean jam wrapped in a preserved cherry leaf).

Japanese Sweets Classification

2011-12-20T13:13:00.008+09:00

The classification of Japanese sweets according to moisture content is generally used.
If the moisture content of them is less than 20%, it is called higashi (dried or desiccated sweets) and, ones above 40% (yokan, adzuki-bean jelly, is over 30%) is nama-gashi (fresh and moist sweets), ones from 20% to 40% is han'nama-gashi (soft, semi-baked sweets).
Normally, higashi is eaten when partaking of light green tea whereas, namagashi is provided with the fuller-bodied green tea.

*Nama-gashi (fresh and moist sweets)*

<rice-cake sweets>
They are made from mainly glutinous rice, non-glutinous rice or their processed food. For
example, ohagi (a rice ball coated with sweetened red beans, soybean flour or sesame and salt), sekihan (rice boiled with beans), daihukumochi (a rice cake stuffed with sweet bean jam), domyoji (a rice cake with bean paste wrapped in a preserved cherry leaf), kashiwamochi (a rice cake wrapped in an oak leaf), suama (plain sweet rice cake).

sakuramochi

<steamed cake>
For example, yubeshi (sweet yuzu-flavoured dumpling).

yubeshi

<baked sweets>
For example, dorayaki (a bean-jam pancake), geppei (mooncake), kasutera (sponge cake).

dorayaki

<kneaded sweets>
For example, nerikiri (a cake made of white bean jam which is artistically colored or shaped), gyuhi (a kind of rice cake made from glutinous rice or glutinous rice flour) and so on.

nerikiri

*Han'nama-gashi (soft, sami-baked sweets)*

<bean-jam sweets>
For example, ishigoromo (water cake).

<flowing sweets>
For example, yokan.

yokan

<sugared sweets>
It is important that full flavor of their ingredients is brought out.
For example, amanatto (sugared red beans).

*Higashi (dried or desiccated sweets)*

<fried sweets>
They are made by deep-fat frying. For example, karinto (dried-dough stick-shaped cookies), deep-fried beans and so on.

<candy>
For example, konpeito (small colored sugar candy covered in bulges), rakugan (hard candy), toffee and so on.

konpeito

<rice confectionery>
For example, rice crackers and so on.

rice crackers

And the classification according to whether they keep for a long time is used too. This classify them as "asanama-gashi" or "jonama-gashi".

"Asanama" means the sweets made since morning to sell on the same day. Such sweets don't keep for a long time, so you should eat them on the same day when you buy them. Starchy sweets like rice cakes become hard in about 2 days. Their prices are lower and they are often eat at home. For example, rice-cake sweets, dumplings and so on. Most of seasonal sweets are contained in them.

In contrast, "jonama" means the sweets of good quality. Jonamagashi is called "jogashi" in Kansai region, and "kyogashi" in Kyoto. Exerting one's originality and ingenuity, jogashi chefs make them so the prices of jonamagashi are more expensive. Most of them keep for a long time, so they are 3 days old, they are still delicious. For example, nerikiri, sweet bean jelly, sweet buns,Turkish delight and so on.

History of Japanese Sweets

2011-12-15T16:05:00.433+09:00

Welcome to my blog. In this blog, I will present Japanese sweets. At first, about the history of Japanese sweets.

*Ancient times*

Anciently people didn't have enough food and eat nuts, berries and fruits for their snacks, distinguishing form their staple diets. Then they came to call those snacks "sweets". In those days, they had no skills to process food, so they regarded sweets which were originally sweet, as the special food.

Then, they acquired the skills to reserve food. For example, they dried nuts in the sun, and crush them with millstones, rubbing stones and stone hammers. In those days, they ate acorn too, but it has too harshness to eat just as it is. So they crushed and soaked in it to skim lye, make it a ball and heat it. It is said that this is the origin of the current dumplings. In this way, the kinds of the preserved foods have increased.

They also acquired the agricultural technology. And Then, the "rice cake" was made, which is regard as the oldest Japanese processed food. It has rice in it for the ingredients, actually rice is very very important in those days, so the rice cakes were regarded as the divine food.

*The Nara period (710-784)*

In the Nara period, international exchange became more active, many envoys dispatched to China and aggressively imported Chinese civilization. Some of the Chinese sweets were also imported into Japan then. Those were called "baishi", "toshi", "kakko", "keishin", "tensei", "hichira", "tuishi" or "danki". Those are made from rice, wheat, soybeans, azuki beans, fried, characteristic shape. People valued them as the special sweets for festivals. They influenced the current Japanese foods. For examples, rice crackers.

*The Kamakura period (1183-1333)*

In the early Kamakura period (about 1191), the tea ceremony culture was imported by Eisai-Zenshi, and it became popular in Japan. In the tea-ceremony room, some snacks and sweets called "tenshin" were served. For example, bars of sweetened and jellied bean paste, rice cakes sprinkled with soy flour and bean-jam pancakes. They influenced to develop Japanese sweets.

*The Muromachi period (1336-1573)*

In this period, some southern sweets were imported into Japan by Portuguese and Spaniards. Those became the original form of the current Japanese sweets. For example, small round cookies, sponge cakes, confetti and crackers.

*The Edo period (1603-1868)*

During the Edo period, Japanese sweets developed greater. Before this period, Japan was always in civil war and people couldn't have afforded to enjoy eating sweets. But peace returned in this period and those who enjoy eating sweets increased, so the technique to make them progressed rapidly. The whole confectioners competed each other for the device, especially in Edo and Kyoto. And some sweets characteristic of districts made too in those days. Most of Japanese sweets which we eat today were made in those days.

*The Meiji period (1868-1912)*

After reaching the Meiji period, Japan became westernized rapidly and it influenced Japanese sweets very much. What is particularly important was the Western cookwares. For example, oven was imported and many baked sweets came to made.

Like this, Japanese sweets was influenced by various foreign cultures and progressed by it.
Thank you for your reading.