The Ultimate Guide To Japanese Wagashi Confectionery

Wagashi, or Japanese sweets, have a rich history in Japan and are often eaten with green tea during tea ceremonies or offered at temples. But how much do you really know about this traditional Japanese confectionery?

There are many different types of wagashi — over 60, in fact — as well as different categories. Wagashi are often intricately crafted by hand, and they're also seasonal, with different types of confectionery eaten depending on the time of year or at specific celebrations.

Our guide to wagashi will dive into the origins and history of this confectionery. We'll explain all you need to know about the types of wagashi, when they're eaten, and how best to enjoy them.

We'll also look at where you can buy and enjoy wagashi in Japan, the U.S., and worldwide. There's so much to learn about this popular Japanese teatime treat, so without further ado, let's dive deep into our ultimate guide to wagashi.

Wagashi fall into three categories: Namagashi, which are fresh sweets, higashi, the dried confectionery, and han namagashi, or half-dry sweets. However, there are many different types and variations of wagashi within these three categories.

Not only are there a huge range of different types of wagashi, but they also change with the seasons. For example, some wagashi, like wanama, is colored pink for cherry blossom season in the spring. 

Other wagashi vary depending on the seasons, too, such as ohagi/botamochi. Namagashi such as yokan is most commonly found in the summer months, when it can be chilled for a refreshing treat.

Fresh wagashi has a much shorter shelf life than dried or half-dry varieties. For this reason, it can be harder to source namagashi outside of Japan, unless you have a specialist wagashi store in your city. We'll look more at where to buy wagashi in a moment.

If you're lucky enough to live in Japan or are planning a trip there, you'll find plenty of places to enjoy wagashi. Wagashi is generally served anywhere you find green tea, so you can enjoy it at temples, in gardens, or in restaurants or cafes across Japan. 

If you want to buy wagashi to enjoy at home, you also have a number of options. Kyoto, Tokyo, and other Japanese cities have street food vendors preparing and selling beautiful wagashi. If you're in Tokyo, head for Asakusa district and check out the wagashi available on Nakamise, a shopping street packed with vendors selling traditional snacks.

You can also buy wagashi in most supermarkets and Konbini (convenience stores) in Japan, as well as some larger department stores. In addition, larger cities have specialty wagashi shops where you can pick up sweet treats, such as Tsuruya Yoshinobu, which has branches in Kyoto and Tokyo.

If you're outside Japan, in the U.S., Europe, or anywhere else, you may be lucky enough to have a specialist wagashi store in your city. In major cities such as New York,  you'll be spoiled for choice. If you're in Paris, be sure to check out Toraya, a renowned Japanese sweet shop.

Outside of major cities, you're unlikely to find fresh wagashi anywhere, though if you're near an Asian grocery store you may find seasonal dry and semi-dry wagashi. You could even order wagashi online, with a number of subscription boxes available.

Although wanama comes in a wide variety of shapes and colors, it is at its prettiest during cherry blossom season in spring, when much of the wanama on sale is pink. Wanama is a type of namagashi or fresh wagashi. If you're buying it at a store, it's best enjoyed within a couple of days of purchasing or it may turn hard.

Most wanama is made with shiratamako (sticky rice flour) with sugar and white beans. It's a soft confectionery that's the perfect complement to matcha due to its sugar content.

Traditionally, wanama is eaten by cutting it into small slices, one at a time, and popping them in your mouth using the included utensil. At a tea ceremony, guests will be provided with a Youji or Kuromoji designed to make it easy to slice the confectionery. These tiny knives are made of stainless steel and wood, respectively.

Monaka is a type of wagashi that resembles a biscuit. You'll find it comes in a variety of shapes and colors depending on the season, from cats to cherry blossom flowers.

Whatever its shape or color, monaka consists of two rice wafers sandwiched with filling. Though the wafers are made from mochiko flour, monaka is not a type of mochi. It can be filled with sweet bean jam, fruit, or chestnut paste. Some monaka are filled with ice cream or mochi.

This is another sweet that first appeared during Japan's Edo period. The name monaka is thought to come from a poem by Minamoto no Shitago. Originally, they were called "monaka no tsuki," meaning moon in the middle, after court nobles who read the poem saw these types of sweets served at a banquet held to view the moon. 

Later, the sweets became available in other shapes. Following this, the name was shortened to monaka.

Daifuku is another type of wagashi that you'll find in Japanese or Asian grocery stores. It's usually made with a mochi ball filled with fruit or sweet red bean paste, though other fillings are available too.

This sweet treat dates back to the Edo period, when the process of making mochi was first invented. It was originally larger and called harabuto mochi, meaning "fat belly mochi" for its round shape and generous filling.

Later, the name was changed to daifuku, meaning "great luck" in Japanese. Daifuku are commonly eaten during Japanese New Year celebrations, and are said to bring good fortune and good luck. They're also popular at spring festivals and other celebrations throughout the year.

You'll find different varieties of daifuku depending on the season. In the winter months, ichigo daifuku filled or topped with strawberry is popular during Japanese strawberry season, which runs from winter to spring. In spring, pink sakura daifuku with sakura blossoms celebrates cherry blossom season.

Rakugan is a type of dry wagashi that resembles a hard candy. It comes in a variety of intricate shapes and is also known as uchimono or uchigashi. It's made with mijinko (glutinous rice flour), sugar, mizuame (a Japanese sweetener), and cereal flour. 

Despite rakugan's popularity as a Japanese sweet, it's actually thought to have originated in China. It's said to be related to a sweet known as nanrakukan, which was made with mizuame, sugar, and glutinous rice flour and shaped in a mold. 

This sweet treat made its way to Japan during the Ming dynasty and could later have been called rakukan before evolving into rakugan. Though it was originally served at tea ceremonies, white rakugan, in particular, became a popular offering to the gods and ancestors.

The texture of rakugan is similar to cookies, and its sweetness makes it the perfect complement for bitter tea such as matcha. Sometimes, rakugan is even added to hot drinks to impart sweetness.

Manju look a bit different from other types of wagashi. They most closely resemble fluffy steamed buns or cakes, and are usually baked or steamed, filled with sweet bean paste.

You'll find manju available in various different sizes and shapes. Their subtle sweetness means they're delicious with green tea.

Like many other Japanese sweet treats, manju were originally brought to Japan from China. They arrived with a Japanese envoy in 1341, and were originally called mantou.

The red bean paste or anko used to fill manju comes in three different types: Koshian, a fine paste, Tsubian, a chunky paste, and Tsubushian, a semi-chunky paste, depending on your preferences. Manju also have a variety of different fillings, depending on the region they're from.

Fillings include shiro-an, white bean paste, miso bean paste, sesame paste, chestnut paste, and matcha paste. Where wheat flour is generally used for most manju,  other varieties, such as Jyouyo Manju, are made with rice flour.