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Wagashi (和菓子, wa-gashi) is a traditional Japanese confection that is often served with green tea, especially the type made of mochi, anko (azuki bean paste), and fruit. Wagashi is typically made from plant-based ingredients with an emphasis on seasonality, and generally making use of cooking methods that pre-date Western influence in Japan. Most of today's wagashi were born during the Edo period (1603-1868). This was a period of peace, economic and cultural prosperity, and increased domestic self-sufficiency in sugar. During the Edo period, a series of delicate and beautiful fresh wagashi called nerikiri (練り切り) were created with various shapes and colors that characterize wagashi. Nerikiri are wagashi made by kneading white bean paste, gyūhi, sugar, yams, and other ingredients, and made in various colors and shapes based on seasonal flowers, animals, nature, events, customs, and other themes. Definition In Japan, the word for sweets or confectionery, kashi (菓子), originally referred to fruits and nuts. Fruits and nuts may be eaten as snacks between meals and served as "sweets" during a tea ceremony. The word Wa means "Japanese", and kashi becomes gashi in compound words, wagashi therefore means "Japanese confectionery". In 1603, the first year of the Edo period (1603-1868), the term kashi (菓子) meant both confectionery and fruit, and was more commonly used to refer to fruit. For example, the Japanese-Portuguese dictionary of the time describes "quaxi" (菓子) as "fruit, especially fruit eaten after a meal." The term mizugashi (水菓子, water confections), which is used to refer to fruit today, is a remnant of the same term. The word wagashi was coined at the end of 1800s to distinguish Japanese confectionery from sweets, cakes and baked goods introduced from the West termed yōgashi (洋菓子). However, wagashi was not the common term for Japanese confectionery until after the Second World War. The definition of wagashi is ambiguous, and the line between wagashi and other types of Japanese confectionery is vague. For example, although the original kasutera (castella) was introduced from Portugal, it has been around for more than 400 years and has been modified to suit Japanese tastes, so it is classified as a wagashi. Mizu shingen mochi (水信玄餅, Raindrop cake), created in 2014, was developed by a wagashi shop as a derivative of shingen mochi and is recognized as a wagashi in Japan. In recent years, wagashi shop have developed and marketed many confections that are an eclectic mix of wagashi and Western confections, often referred to as "neo-wagashi". History Before the Edo period Jomon - Nara period It is believed that the first food eaten as a confection in Japan was a processed food from the Jomon period. It is thought to have been either a food made by kneading chestnuts into a powder and then baking and hardening it with eggs and salt, or a food made by adding animal flesh to chestnut flour and baking and hardening it. During the Yayoi period, dango (団子, dumpling) were made from grain or rice flour. During the Nara period (710-794), a food called karakudamono (唐菓子, Chinese confections) was brought to Japan from the Tang dynasty. This food consisted mostly of powdered kneaded rice, wheat, soybeans, and azuki beans, seasoned with sweet miso paste, and fried in oil as the main ingredient. It was prized as a ritual food in various forms, but later fell into disuse in Japan and is now used as an offering to the Buddha in modern Buddhism. Sugar was introduced to Japan around 750, but it was not until 850 years later, around the Edo period, that sugar-based wagashi began to be widely produced. Heian - Muromachi period The first beautifully crafted confections were created in the Heian period (794-1185) and are mentioned in The Tale of Genji under the names tsubakimochi (椿餅) and aosashi (青差). Tsubakimochi was originally a confection that was not fried in oil, which was unusual among karakudamono, but it was later changed to suit the tastes of the Japanese people. In the beginning, it was a mochi made by coating rice flour with a sweetener made from the juice of boiled vine grass and wrapping it in camellia leaves. Later, the sweetener made from the juice of boiled vine grass was replaced by sugar, and the rice cake was filled with red bean paste. Confectionery of this period was food offered to the nobility. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Japanese Buddhist monks who studied in the Song Dynasty brought the culture of the tea ceremony to Japan, and the custom of eating confections with tea began in Japan. The monks also introduced tenshin (点心, dim sum), a light meal, and the history book Teikun ōrai (庭訓往来) mentions manjū (饅頭), yōkan (羊羹), and udon (饂飩) as tenshin (点心). However, the manjū and yōkan brought to Japan by the monks were not sweets as we know them today, but were prepared in a completely different way. At that time, manjū was not confection, did not contain red bean paste, and were not sweet. The history book Sōgo ōzōshi (宗五大草紙) clearly describes manjū as a dish eaten with chopsticks along with soup and pickles. Later, manjū changed from a light meal to a confection to suit Japanese tastes. In the Muromachi period (1336-1573), Shokunin utaai ehon (職人歌合画本) depicted sweet manjū made with sugar. This manjū is considered the prototype of today's manjū. Yōkan was a soup containing sheep meat, but since there was no custom of eating animal meat in Japan, the Japanese replaced the meat with a paste made of kneaded barley or azuki bean flour. Later, the soup was removed and replaced with a pasty confection made of barley or azuki bean flour. Finally, around 1800, during the Edo period (1603-1868), 500 years later, yōkan became what it is today. The invention of kanten (寒天, agar) in the 1600s was essential to the birth of modern yokan. Later, the kanten invented in Japan was introduced to Manchuria, Korea and Taiwan. The udon was also very different from today's udon, more like wonton. (餛飩) Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama period During the Sengoku period, the Portuguese brought Western confectionery to Japan through the Nanban trade. Kasutera (カステラ, castella) is a typical confection based on these Western confections. Kasutera was the only exception because it was made from chicken eggs, while Japanese confectionery was made from vegetable ingredients. To suit their own tastes, the Japanese added mizuame (水飴) to the sponge cake to make it more moist, and zarame (ザラメ, coarse sugar), was added to the bottom of the sponge cake to give it a coarser texture. As trade increased, so did sugar imports. The prototype of konpeitō (金平糖) was also brought to Japan through trade with Portugal and Spain. While Kompeitō, introduced from Portugal, was a sugar-coated confection with a poppy seed or sesame seed center, the Japanese eventually transformed it into an all-sugar confection with a zarame (ザラメ, coarse sugar) center. From the Sengoku period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period, wagashi .... Discover the Monaka Kuri popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Monaka Kuri books.