The Craftsmanship Spirit of Wagashi – 2138期

Comparing the pastry in both Western and Chinese culture, the well-known Japanese authentic confectionary “Wagashi（和?子）” had remained its distinctness to preserve the long-standing history of wagashi. Ming Yue Tang（明月堂）, a 80-years-old wagashi store has truly displayed the craftsmanship spirit（職人精神）that maintains the traditional process for making wagashi.

In Japanese culture, craftsmanship spirit means that an artisan is proficient in particular skills. Once the artisans are regarded as craftsmen, they will constantly refine their techniques and will spend their entire life to reach perfection. Normally, craftsmanship spirit is related to the male artisan.

Since 1945, confectioner Jin-tu Zhou（周金塗）transformed the Japanese grocery store Ming Yue Tang（明月堂）into a wagashi store and continued  making the traditional Japanese sweets. “During the past 80 years, we have tried our best to follow the traditional formula to make wagashi,” said Yi-xiong Zhou（周宜雄）, the son of Jin-tu Zhou.

Without adding any artificial additives or preservatives, Ming Yue Tang extends the storage life of wagashi by adding some sugar. Even though customers may regard wagashi as too sugary, Zhou believes that the best way to taste wagashi is to enjoy it with a cup of black coffee or tea.