Daimonji and Chofu: Pay Your Taxes in Wagashi!
It’s chofu, a waffle wrapper with gooey gyuhi inside — and it has a ‘大’ branded on it. What the heck is this all about?
Archive for the ‘wagashi (和菓子)’ CategoryWagashi (和菓子) is the traditional confection of Japan that developed with the tea ceremony. Wagashi come in a myriad of types and most are made with sweetened beans, mochi and/or fruit. The theme is always natural beauty and often have a reference to a classical poem or painting. Kyoto’s famous kyogashi (京菓子) are considered the pinnacle of sophistication and refinement in Japan.
Wagashi: Daimonji and Chofu
Wagashi: Ayugashi or Waka-ayu Sweetfish Shaped Confection
Wagashi: Ayugashi or Waka-ayu, Early Summer Sweetfish (Ayu) Shaped Confection (鮎菓子 若鮎)
Meet ayugashi! A river fish shaped confection with waffle for a skin, bubbly soft mochi for innards and facial and fin features branded on with hot iron.
Wagashi: Early Summer Loquat (Biwa) Namagashi
Wagashi: Early Summer Biwa (Loquat) Namagashi 枇杷 (びわ) 生菓子
As early summer becomes midsummer, the days muggy and the nights no longer cool, the loquat, or biwa in Japanese, is a common sight in Kyoto; both in discount supermarkets and fine fruit boutiques and on the streets and sidewalks, fallen from large leafed trees overhanging a walled garden…
Wagashi: Chadango and Minazuki
Wagashi: Chadango and Minazuki (茶だんご みなづき)
Minazuki is an early summer wagashi that from centuries ago commoners ate on the day that royals ate — ice.
Wagashi: Kuromitsu Dango
Wagashi: Kuromitsu Dango (黒みつだんご)
Kuromitsu Dango is a simple and tasty wagashi that combines mochi, syrupy kuromitsu and powdery kinako.
