This page documents icie's various experiences with the wonderful world of wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionary), where four senses may be indulged. The colours and inspirational designs of wagashi render some of them closer to artworks or icons than anything else. The smell of the blend of fresh natural ingredients invites the observer to closer examination. The unique texture afforded by those same ingredients differ for the sweets, from the Ohigasa's rice-flour-sugar mixture which crumbles and spreads through the mouth, to the contrast of smooth jelly with rice grains in Hanagouri. Lastly, the taste -- the slight malt flavour which emerges and develops from the sweet wasanbon melting on the tongue, the cherry flower sweetness of the Hanagouri, and the sheer indulgence of the embedded chestnuts in the Kurimusiyoukan.
Herein then, is the very essence of the temporary. Just as the intricate and colourful mandalas created from coloured sand must at last be swept away, just as the infinite beauty of the roadside flower must wilt away in the summer sun, so too the intricate beauty of the wagashi must yield to the temporal flow. Made from the freshest ingredients, they may be used as decorations for only so long as the shelf life allows. The sense of sight is only the first layer of the experience of wagashi. Therefore, these photographs which capture the temporary must prove themselves insufficient at long last.
Having ordered the confectionary duly from Minatoya, our protaganist waited for the weekend and the exams to pass before receiving the package via the well-disposed hands of EMS.
The items ordered were: "Assortment long shape sweet in summer" box (consisting of Hanagouri, Taniwakata, and Kurimusiyoukan, all long jelly-type sweets), "Ohigasi" (Summer designs due to season in Japan), and "Four Season Flowers" made from Wasanbon (special grade sugar).
Your protaganist is but a humble amateur archivist of memories. There is no elite photo work involved here. Some photographs (due to archival nature of this work) are pretty mundane. Photo's were taken with timer on a tripod to ensure minimal blurring due to shakey hands. Most do not use flash for battery conservation purposes (:P). Full size photos are 1198 x 1602 resolution and approach 0.5MB each. Please view pictures selectively.
Behold, therefore...
| All laid out, packages intact | | Starting from the long jelly sweets | | Back of packaging |
| Now the Ohigasi packaging | | Back of Ohigasi | | Wasanbon Four Season Flowers |
| ...and the back... | | Opened wasanbon packaging...to reveal an intricate box with old style clasp | | Back of box |
| Ohigasi box unwrapped. Nice texture | | Even a seal at the bottom | | Managed to take off the paper ribbon from the long sweets box without snipping it. |
| Double-sided paper unwrapped to show another nice box. | | Long sweet box opened: a few inserts, plus the three internal boxes containing the sweets | | Starting from the most beautiful, this Hanagouri (Flower ice) is basically gelatin on a base of rice/sugar with actual edible blossoms embedded in the gelatin. |
| Not sure why I have two pics of that. | | Next up: not too clear, but this Taniwakaba (Valley young leaves) is almost like the above, but has flour/koshian base and embedded are flour/koshian shapes of green leaves. | | Different lighting conditions in attempt to penetrate the darkness of the jelly. |
| Looks ugly, but the Kurimusiyoukan contains whole chestnuts from Takamatsu embedded in koshian/sugar/rice flour jelly. | | Ohigasa box opened. Bubble wrap plus crepe-type paper protects it. | | The sweets revealed. Quite ordinary. Sugar flour mixture, nothing special. Used for tea ceremonies to sweeten the mouth before taking bitter tea. |
| Wasanbon "flower" sweet box opened. | | Wasanbon flower sweets revealed. They look like a pastel colour, but the taste is exquisite melt-in-your mouth. Completely sublime experience compared to Ohigasa. | | Ohigasa arranged in pseudo-artful manner on Japanese dishes. 4 types. Green leaves are gelatin-like inside with hard shell outside. |
| Then white and pink flowers...and big purple flowers. :P This picture has flash. | | Wasanbon arranged. With flash. | | Without flash. |
Firstly, Hanagouri (Flower Ice).
 | When first taken out of box and plastic wrapper. |  | The shiny enclosure removed. Note three flowers inside. The 'ice' effect or snow effect is created by the sprinkling of rice within the jelly. A veritable "Sakura viewing" in a sweet. |  | Cut in cross section. |
Secondly, Kurimusiyoukan (Chestnut).
 | When first taken out of box and plastic wrapper. |  | The shiny enclosure removed. Whole chestnuts embedded in the dark koshian jelly. The imagery is that of a sunset. |  | Cut in cross section. |
Lastly, Taniwakata (Young valley leaves).
 | When first taken out of box and plastic wrapper. |  | The shiny enclosure removed. Green leaves on top of brown koshian jelly layer. Imagery of leaves floating in shallow stream. |  | Cut in cross section. |
 | With flash. |
The wagashi adventure continues...
Doing this experiment and photo archival was NOT cheap. These sweets are VERY perishable (note the expiry dates on the packages), so they must be shipped via EMS. You can be sure that it will get to you quickly, and in good condition though.
The Ohigasa certainly LOOK good, but they have a pretty ordinary taste and texture.
The Wasanbon sweets should be prioritised over the Ohigasa. They are worth the premium.
The Japanese have been long renown for their meticulous (some say over-) packaging, and that is especially true in their treatment of these traditional sweets.
Minatoya is the only place so far which I have found to be accessible to foreigners, not only by having an English section, but also actively encouraging foreign ordering. They are much recommended if you have no other source of wagashi.
The protaganist's sister returned from the orient bearing various Japanese confectionary.
 | Overview of a big box of Japanese jellies. |  | Back of package, with seal. Glossy wrapping paper |  | Internal box...same pattern as the wrapper. |
 | Selection of confectionary, some with fruit slices and such in them. |  | Two additional packages, unopened. |  | Dry sweets (probably of the ohigasa variety) with a theme for Boy's Day, as well as "Kaki Kori" melon flavoured which seems like normal candy. |