VOL.211 JANUARY 2026
JAPAN AND UME Wagashi with Japanese Apricot Motif in the Tea Ceremony

An example of Japanese apricot-themed wagashi given the kamei (name), “Kaya wa Kakururu (“Hidden Fragrance”),” inspired by a waka poem about Japanese apricot blossoms on a spring night that are unseen yet fragrant
Photo: ISHIZAWA Yoji
Photography cooperation: Oimatsu, Yuuhisai Koudoukan

Wagashi (Japanese confectionery) served at tea ceremonies are ichigo ichie¹ artistic creations made to host guests, and many of them have a Japanese apricot motif. HAMASAKI Kanako, Director of the Yuuhisai Koudoukan, a center dedicated to the preservation of Kyoto’s traditional culture, spoke about how to enjoy Japanese apricot-themed wagashi and the related aesthetics at a tea ceremony.

The wagashi served at tea ceremonies are more than just confections. Each one is a gift crafted specifically for that guest, mindful of the day’s weather, time, and location. HAMASAKI says, “What we perceive as delicious is tied to the episodic memories of the people with whom we shared it and our state of mind at the time. The wagashi at a tea ceremony embodies this experience in its most refined form.”

HAMASAKI continues, “Since wagashi disappear as soon as you put them in your mouth, this transience makes you savor them with all five senses. It is the moment you realize how much thought the host has put into this for you that the taste becomes an unforgettable memory.” To express this ichigo ichie spirit of hospitality, a sense of the season is valued at the tea ceremony. The wagashi reflect the flowers that bloom and the landscapes one can see at that time, allowing guests to enjoy the changing beauty of nature. Wagashi depicting the Japanese apricot blossom — a good luck charm celebrating the New Year and a herald of spring — are also frequently served at tea ceremonies.

Japanese apricot blossoms are known for their impressive fragrance. However, “We usually don’t use ingredients with strong fragrances in wagashi for tea ceremonies,” says HAMASAKI. Thus, ingredients with a strong Japanese apricot scent or flavor are intentionally left out even when making wagashi inspired by it. “Rather than stimulating the actual olfactory senses, wagashi evoke the fragrance through the shape, color, and kamei². Though there is no scent, one perceives it nonetheless. That’s the Japanese aesthetic sense.”

In addition, not only the scent, but also the shape is expressed abstractly. For example, there is a type of wagashi called kinton, which is dressed in crumbled sweet bean paste. While the motif is Japanese apricot, the idea is not to try to meticulously shape realistic-looking petals, but to express the blossom solely through shades of white, pink, and red in an abstract, circular form. Such sweets receive kamei such as “Kochi” (“East Wind”) and “Kaya wa Kakururu” (“Hidden Fragrance”). Some names are borrowed from kanshi, traditional Chinese poetry, giving them a dignified sound, while others come from Japanese waka and have an elegant air. These kamei stimulate guests to recall memories of Japanese apricot blossoms or stories nurtured over many years of history, and they feel a sensation as if the fragrance of Japanese apricot blossoms is gently rising.

“If Western cuisine is a culture of addition that builds flavors by layering ingredients, then Japanese culture, especially Kyoto wagashi, is a culture of subtraction, refining elements to their simplicity,” says HAMASAKI. “It is precisely the abstraction and simplicity that allow the guest to use their imagination when tasting it.”

This playful spirit of the unseen in the tea ceremony is not limited to wagashi. In the tea ceremony room, the hanging scrolls on display and the arrangement of tea utensils can also express scenes and stories involving Japanese apricots.

“While utensils featuring Japanese apricot patterns are sometimes used, we also occasionally use such designs in less noticeable ways, for example, on the mizusashi³ or on the tea utensils. The host offers hints through the utensils, and guests enjoy discovering them. This intellectual game is in the same spirit as renga⁴ poetry, in which multiple participants used to work together to improvise a waka.”

Many travelers from overseas visit Yuuhisai Koudoukan to experience a tea ceremony. “I feel that people from overseas also are attracted to and embrace the abstraction and the sense of space in Japanese culture,” says HAMASAKI. “Even if you don’t know the Japanese language or history, the real pleasure of a tea ceremony lies in enjoying the beautiful wagashi and space in front of you as you wonder, ‘What scene does this sweet represent?’”

Whenever you are invited to a tea ceremony or come upon Japanese apricot-themed sweets at a wagashi shop during the Japanese apricot season from January to March, please pay close attention to the shapes, colors, and names of the confections. You’ll have an even more memorable time if you savor them while imagining the sight and fragrance of blooming Japanese apricot blossoms.

• 1. A Japanese maxim that says one should cherish encounters and opportunities that come only once in a lifetime.
• 2. The name given to a wagashi. Kamei can be derived from waka, haiku, regional history, or famous sites.
• 3. A jar used in a tea ceremony to temporarily store water for boiling or washing tea bowls.
• 4. A competitive game enjoyed by many people who take turns composing the kami no ku (upper part — three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables) and the shimo no ku (lower part — two lines of 7 and 7 syllables) of a waka to complete the poem.

By MURAKAMI Kayo
Photo: ISHIZAWA Yoji; Oimatsu; Yuuhisai Koudoukan