The Mark of Beauty - 2013/02/21 - Kanazawa Confections

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Feb. 21, Thu.

Kanazawa Confections

Kanazawa is known as one of the three great places in Japan for traditional sweets and cakes. This castle town flourished as the seat of the rich Kaga fief, which famously yielded a million koku (1 koku is about 180 liters) of rice, and this land of deep snows has also produced a beautiful array of confections. Sweets that shine in the snow... What hidden techniques create such charm? The samurai households loved the decorous, dry sweets known as rakugan but how are those exquisite wooden molds carved? The raw sweets served at tea ceremonies are also a delight. We watch a master confectioner's creative, trial-and-error technique as he encapsulates the feel of the Hokuriku region. In this city of crafts, Kanazawa, we also pay attention to the bowls and plates. This is a winter journey to the confections of Kanazawa, when the city is at its most beautiful.

Kanazawa, wealthy seat of the Kaga domain, is known together with Kyoto and Matsue as one of Japan's three greatest confectionary towns. The New Year confections include the red-and-white monaka bean-jam wafers, here called fuku-ume and shaped like plum blossoms in the snow. The plum blossoms are a harbinger of spring at the long winter's end.

The views of the town as it used to be are also embodied in the confections. Barges carrying firewood and other goods used to ply the River Asano which flows through the middle. These rice crackers show the barges piled high with firewood and covered with snow.

Confections mark out the passage of life. The goshikinamagashi - 5-colored raw sweets - have come down from the Edo Period and are used as gifts for such important celebrations as weddings or when building a new house. The distinctive shapes of the cakes in the Hokuriku region reflect deep reverence for nature.

More raw confections are consumed in Kanazawa than anywhere else in Japan! The people enjoy them as a matter of course in their everyday life. You might think they'd be eaten with tea... but, no, this is coffee! Today, we discover some little-known aspects of the beauty of this city of confections, Kanazawa.

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part 1 of 1: http://go4up.com/dl/1DUiTVbf0mG7