JAPANESE SENSIBILITY THROUGH

WAGASHI

Student　Yuma KAWAKITA
Saho TAMAKI
Mai HASHIKI
Aika FUMIZAWA
Kindai University, Osaka, Japan

Abstract
In recent years, Japanese food culture has been attracting
attention from around the world, such as WASHOKU which was
registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. One of the
food cultures is Japanese traditional sweets which are called
“WAGASHI1”. This traditional sweet has developed uniquely as
Wagashi after it was imported from Western Europe or China. Such
Wagashi embodies not only the taste but also Japanese original
spirituality. Therefore, in this article, we’ll focus on Wagashi which
is a Japanese traditional sweet and discuss the appeal and the
Japanese sensitivity that Wagashi has.

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WAGASHI is Japanese sweets.

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1. The Art of The Five Senses
Wagashi has not only a good taste but also beauty in
color and form, Japanese seasonal nature and life processes.
In other words, Wagashi is the art of the five senses. It has the
beauty of sight, good taste, texture and feeling when you eat
and cut it but there are things that particularly appeal about
Wagashi 's peculiar sense of smell and hearing.

Figure 1, cited from the website “Wagashi”

1.1 Tast
As for Wagashi, the simple taste and a mellow flavor
spread if you put it in your mouth. Wagashi is known as
Japanese cake, and the cake normally uses a nut or fruit.
Therefore, Wagashi is originally a gift of blessings of nature,
and made from the raw materials, rice and wheat, and
vegetables such as beans. This is the real identity of the gentle
taste of the Wagashi.
1.2 Tactile
The softness when you pick up Daifuku and the

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gentle reaction when you put a toothpick convey the
deliciousness even before you put it in your mouth. When
you put it in your mouth, you will feel a unique chewing
texture, texture, and melting taste in your mouth.
1.3 Smell
In addition, Wagashi is rich in natural aroma. Rich
aroma of beans and rice, soybean flour aroma, refreshing
citrus aroma. Sakura mochi, Wagashi that represents spring, is
wrapped with cherry leaves, and you can feel the flavor of
mochi and bean paste and the faint scent of cherry leaves
create an exquisite harmony.
1.4 Visual
Japanese sweets remind us of beautiful scenery and
visually convey the changes of the four seasons. And Japanese
sweets are made in traditional gentle colors that match the
seasons. There are various shapes of Japanese sweets such as
seasonal plants, auspicious crane turtles, and famous
paintings.
1.5 The Sense of Hearing
You can feel the sound of tasteful in Wagashi. This
is because Wagashi moves the hearts of Japanese people in the
seasons and the humor that is put into the beauty of its
appearance. A country like Japan where you can enjoy the
weather, plants, customs, etc. throughout the four seasons is a
rare country. Let’s take Sakura, which is a symbol of Japan, as

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an example. The reason why Japanese people think that cherry
blossoms are beautiful is that they are associated with the
existence and death of human beings because of the sort
lifespan of cherry blossoms that bloom and die on the ground.
This idea is the Japanese view of nature.

2 Japanese view of nature.

However, what is the reason Wagashi depicts the
season? We think this is owing to the Japanese unique view of
nature. In addition to the four distant seasons, Japan is an
island country which has natural features like heavy rain,
heavy snowfall and earthquakes. Japanese people have been
in awe of nature but lived side by side with it. And they have
cultivated their sensitivity.

3 “Wabi-Sabi”
Furthermore, a Japanese view of nature has peculiar
aesthetic sense. According to the influence of the Buddhism that
most of Japanese people believe in, this is thought about. In the
times when Buddhism was transmitted in Japan, It fell disorder
and it severe to live for people. At this time, people were not
even sure that they could live today and for them, life was frail.
In addition, the Japanese feel this kind of fragility in nature, such
as the appearance of cherry blossoms falling, and feel it is
beautiful. "Wabi-sabi" is a view of nature that focuses on the

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beauty of nature and the fragility of life.
“Wabi-Sabi” is a world view that focuses on beauty
such as the appearance of nature, objects, and the fragility of
life. This kind of Japanese view of nature is expressed in
Wagashi. In this way, the world view and individuality of
Wagashi are expressed, and you can enjoy them with all five
senses. As a consequence, we think they have adopted their
sensitivity not only as a linguistic expression but also through
Wagashi.

4 Conclusion
In this way, there are many ways to enjoy Wagashi,
and a view of nature and aesthetics remains in Japan today.
Also, Wagashi reflects Japanese food culture and aesthetics
like “Wabi-Sabi”. We think Wagashi will fascinate people all
over the world through Japanese skills and aesthetics.

<Acknowledgements>
We do not have enough words to describe our
appreciation for Dr. Tomohiro MORIYAMA, a professor of
English Linguistics and Education at Kindai University because,
even in his busy schedule, he was so kind to give us more than
great support for completing this thesis. Furthermore Prof. Paul
Joyce, a professor of Applied Linguistics at Kindai University,
also supports. Finally, we must thank our mentor for his

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continuous dedication and support to us.

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Bibliography
1. Aoki, N. (2021). “Utsukushi Wagashi-no zukan” [A Picture
Book of Beautiful Japanese]
2. Nakayama, K. (2018). “Wagashi-no Sekai” [The World of
Wagashi] 266
3. Ura, K. (2019). “Nihon-no Shikitari” [Japanese Tradition]
192, 193
<Websites>
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the concept of "Japan that surprises the world"
https://www.meti.go.jp/committee/kenkyukai/shoujo
/sekai/pdf/003_02_00.pdf(accessed on September
14th, 2021)
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https://foreignlang.ecc.co.jp/know/k00006d/
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