Home Sweet Kyoto

by Sugano Yasuyo

I distinctly remember watching a documentary video as a child about a traditional Japanese confectionary (wagashi) maker in Kyoto. Just watching the dignified air of this established artisan made me straighten my posture.

There is a premium type of namagashi (“wet confectionary,” meaning 30% or more is moisture), used in chadô (tea ceremony) and as a popular gift, which is called Jônamagashi. The shapes of the sweets reflect attractive images from nature throughout the seasons. In the documentary, for example, one of the featured jônamagashi was for autumn tea ceremonies, and was in the shape of a leaf. Every morning, the confectionary maker would observe the mountains. The color of the sweets made daily would match what he saw in nature; they would change from green to yellow and eventually red. The simple beauty of the nerikiri he was kneading carefully held my rapt attention (nerikiri is a blend of white bean and gyûhi, which is a glutinous rice or flour that provides viscosity).

Kyoto’s wagashi developed and became refined concomitant with chado. The jônamagashi used in chadô is considered a specialized art. The names for the confectionaries are based on the seasons, traditional themes of natural beauty, waka (a form of traditional poetry) and haiku. Eating such art as this seems so wasteful as to elicit a sigh. The delicate aesthetic touch of the maker that goes into such a small treat is always a point of interest for me.

These special wagashi aren’t the only varieties, of course; there are the usual manjû, dango, and mochi that are a part of Kyoto’s culinary charm. And in a city where there are so many shrines and temples, we can’t forget all those special treats for religious ceremonies and festivals. Imamiya Shrine’s aburi-mochi is skewered on sticks no bigger than your pinky and roasted over charcoal before a sweet-and-sour white miso sauce is slathered on. When I was a child, I had relatives who lived near the shrine and I always looked forward to those treats when visiting.

There aren’t many ingredients that go into wagashi and they are traditionally free of fats and oils for the most part. Recently, however, new kinds of wagashi are appearing, like green-tea parfaits with ice cream or whipped cream on top. Maybe we can call these “sub-culture” wagashi for fun.

子供の頃、テレビで京都の和菓子職人のドキュメンタリーを見たことがある。老舗の職人の凛とした姿勢に、見ているこちらも背筋が伸びたことをはっきりと憶えている。

茶席や贈答品に使われる上等な生菓子は「上生菓子」と呼ばれ、その造形には四季折々の美しい自然が映し出される。そのドキュメンタリーでは、秋の茶席向けの、紅葉する木の葉を形どった上生菓子が作られていた。職人は毎朝秋の山を観察する。日々作られる菓子の色は、葉の色彩にあわせて緑から黄色、紅へと変わっていく。職人の手で丁寧にこねられる「練り切り」の美しさに、私は眠気も忘れて見入っていた。(練り切りは、白あんに、粘度を持たせるため求肥や大和芋のすりおろしなどを加えたもの。)

京都の和菓子は茶道とともに洗練と発展を遂げてきた。茶席で供される上生菓子は芸術作品の域に達している。名前は四季や花鳥風月、和歌や俳句に基づいてつけられる。食べてしまうのがもったいなく、ため息が出るほどだ。小さなお菓子に込められた職人の繊細な美意識を楽しみたい。

そのような特別な和菓子だけでなく、普段に食べるお饅頭・お団子・お餅なども京都の魅力のひとつだ。また、社寺が多い京都では、行事やお祭りのための和菓子も忘れてはならないだろう。今宮神社の「あぶり餅」は、竹串に小指の先ほどの餅を差し、炭火でこんがり焼いたものを白味噌の甘しょっぱいタレでいただく。子供の頃、今宮神社の近くに住む親戚を訪ねるときの楽しみの一つがこの「あぶり餅」だった。

和菓子の素材の種類はさほど多くなく、油や脂肪はほとんど使われてこなかった。しかし最近はアイスクリームや生クリームをのせた抹茶パフェのような、新しい和菓子も増えている。これらは「サブカルチャー和菓子」とでも言えるかもしれない。

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