Kyoto Confectionery - Japanology Plus

The Essence of Kyogashi [00:00:00]

• Kyogashi, or Kyoto-style traditional confectionery, is renowned for its colorful elegance and refined forms.
• These sweets evolved alongside the tea ceremony, influenced by Chinese and other cultures.
• Modern artisans are blending new sensibilities into their craft to preserve and pass on the charm of Kyoto confectionery.
• The true appeal lies in delighting all five senses, not just taste.

  "The true essence of these sweets lies not only in their flavors, but in their ability to delight all five senses."

Innovating with Anko and Yokan [00:01:09]

• A shop specializing in anko (sweet bean paste) appeals to young people with Western-style sweets like cookies and cakes.
• They collaborated with an outdoor goods store to create portable yokan (bean jelly) bars.
• Yokan flavors are inspired by the sky: "morning" (figs, apricots, walnuts for coffee pairing), "daytime" (roasted sweet potato and honey), and "night" (chocolate for whiskey pairing).
• The shop's most popular sweet is a DIY monaca, where customers fill a glutinous rice vessel with anko and mochi.

  "It inspires all kinds of ideas for enjoying it."

Revitalizing Amanatto [00:03:11]

• Kondo Takeshi, a fourth-generation proprietor, aims to introduce amanatto (dried beans simmered in sugar) to younger people and overseas markets.
• Amanatto is made by boiling beans in sugar and drying the surface, offering a soft texture and gentle sweetness.
• Kondo incorporates new ingredients like cashews, pistachios, and cacao beans to make amanatto more appealing.
• A dedicated customer enjoys six different kinds of amanatto, appreciating the sequence of flavors like a multi-course meal.

  "I've never had anything like it."

A Legacy of Sweetness [00:05:05]

• A shop with over 200 years of history features ubadama, a signature sweet made of strained bean paste with an agar glaze.
• Sliced yokan, topped with butter and poppy seeds, can be toasted on bread for breakfast.
• Innovative sweets made with health-conscious ingredients include a treat from azuki bean cooking liquid with a meringue-like finish, developed by the proprietor's wife.
• The proprietor personally tests new sweets for a week to ensure they don't negatively affect his health.

  "The oldest ones are more than 200 years old, and there are some newer ones as well."

The Art of Wagashi Making [00:09:49]

• The shop uses local well water, a quality that influenced its founding location.
• Water quality affects bean cooking, aroma release, and confectioner techniques, leading to regional variations.
• A hands-on experience demonstrates making "aomomichi" (green maple leaf) using nerikiri (sweetened bean paste).
• The process involves kneading, blending colors, shaping, and adding vein details, highlighting the difficulty in achieving uniformity.

  "It's really difficult to make so many of them look exactly the same."

Capturing Scenery in Sweets [00:13:43]

• Wagashi artisan Tukiyama Sayoko recreates Kyoto's natural scenery and essence in her sweets.
• She hosts events pairing her sweets with matching teas, like a "forest bathing" sweet with mochi, mugwort, mulberry leaves, amanatsu citrus, and hinoki cypress.
• Another creation, "A butterfly flies in on the breeze," features evolving flavors of peppermint, rose, and neroli to evoke wind and fragrance.
• Sayoko intentionally moved away from a sole focus on matcha, creating wagashi to accompany various drinks and engage all senses, viewing them as abstract art.

  "I designed it so that the scent overflows from within."