Photos of Traditional Japanese Sweets for Tea Ceremonies

 

In connection to the big Tea Ceremony event "Tokyo Daichakai" on my last post on the Nov. 11th, I'd like to talk about Tea Ceremony Sweets today. Though these sweets are not only for Tea Ceremony and can be found in traditional Japanese sweets shops, the sweets are one of the biggest delights for Tea Ceremony guests. 

Roughly two different types of traditional sweets are served at Tea Ceremonies and one is called "Nama-Gashi" which is shown in the upper photos and lower right hand side photo. The literal translation of "Nama-Gashi" is "Uncooked-Sweets", though it is surely cooked. The main ingredient of  "Nama-Gashi" is beans, either the whole sweets or the filling is sweetened bean paste made from boiled beans. The texture of it is soft and very moist. "Nama-Gashi" doesn't keep long ( should be consumed within a day ) and that may be the reason for the name.  

The other one is called "Hi-Gashi" which means "Dry Sweets" and is a photo is shown in the lower left hand side. It is a kind of traditional candy called "Wasanbon" and made of sugar powder. Beside "Wasanbon", rice crackers and sweetened dry beans are also "Hi-Gashi". 

Basically, the "Nama-Gashi" is served before strong macha tea of a Tea Ceremony, and "Hi-Gashi" is served before light macha tea at a formal Tea Ceremony, but when only light macha tea is served at a Tea Ceremony, either sweets can be served.

One of the most important purpose of  providing Tea Ceremony sweets is to give a sense of the season to the guests. The shape or the color is designed to remind people  of the current season.  

The sweets in the lower photos are for fall season, the shapes showing fall harvest and popular autumn foliage, such as gingko leaves and Maple leaves.  The "Nama-Gashi" sweets in the upper photos are for different seasons. Can you tell which season it would be for each of three?