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【Media Interview】Sweet Sweet Toukaya

The feminine philosophy of wagashi in Taiwan

 

Emily (Wu Huijing), a confectionery maker from the Tang family, appeared in an elegant kimono.

 

The spring breeze blows on Taipei's Kuling Street, making the Japanese-style old house"East Academy of Fine Arts"The leaves of the big branches inside are whirling, and the eyes follow the "rustling" sound to the Japanese room. The wagashi craftsman Emily (Wu Huijing), dressed in an elegant kimono and with a smile on her face, invites visitors to taste the traditional Japanese wagashi that has been passed down for thousands of years. Immerse yourself in a spring feast rich in the charm of the solar terms with the Kaiseki cuisine of East Academy of Fine Arts.

TEXT／Weng Peiheng PHOTO／Lin Guanliang, Tang Hejia THANKS／Eastern Academy of Fine Arts VISUAL／Sally Shih

 

 

A life-long pursuit of the realm of beauty! Designer goes to Japan to work as a confectionery apprentice

At the time of the Spring Equinox, Emily made a vivid wagashi combination called "Spring". The appearance of pink cherry blossoms and petals complements the flowers blown by the spring breeze. Every cut, every dent, and every color of the wagashi is just right. People can’t help but hold it in the palm of their hands and observe it carefully, trying to distinguish whether it is a flower or a fruit.

"It's beautiful! It's the first time I saw it on TVwagashi , was deeply attracted by their beauty. Emily picked up a wagashi and said, "The beauty of wagashi is not just the exquisite appearance, but the traditional connotation they inherit. Not only are the materials chosen according to the four seasons, but the design of each wagashi contains Unique folk customs and production context, they have stories.” Emily further researched the history and development of wagashi, and found that the process of making wagashi is healthy, and most of the ingredients are rice and beans familiar to Taiwanese. She has developed an affinity for this Japanese dessert, and the context in which the confectionery makers give wagashi creations during the process is very attractive to Emily. Therefore, Emily temporarily put aside her life in Taiwan and decided to go to Japan to learn how to make wagashi, starting her career as a wagashi craftsman.

 

Emily makes a wagashi combination called "Spring".

 

The first person in Taiwan! From poor Japanese to winning the Japanese confectionery award

Emily was originally a graphic designer and had already made a name for herself in China. When she was 33 years old, she flew to Tokyo and started learning basic Japanese and basic confectionery, and then bravely opened a long-established wagashi store.Usagiya (Rabbit House) When she applied for an apprenticeship, she was not fluent in Japanese. The interviewer frankly said, "Why do you dare to come for an interview if your Japanese is so poor?" He also looked through her past graphic design works. The more she looked at them, the more she appreciated them. This is how Emily progressed. He opened a century-old store and became the store’s first foreign employee since its establishment! Talking about the process of learning to make wagashi, Emily described it as inspiring as the plot of a Japanese drama. "At that time, very few students would participate in the wagashi craftsman competition. I didn't care. I signed up for the competition out of enthusiasm." Emily recalled that during the competition Seeing that the judges were all wagashi champions she had seen on TV in the past, she was as excited as if she were meeting an idol, and worked hard to create every competition.

However, just one month before entering the final review, Emily was frustrated because her visa was about to expire, which might affect her participation in the competition, so she submitted her work in a half-give up state. “It was the cherry blossom season, so I made a gray There is no feeling of spring in the night cherry blossoms. The TV champion has won the title for seven consecutive years.Teacher Hiromitsu TakahashiAfter seeing my work, I said that my customers are very pitiful and they have to wait until I am in a good mood to eat beautiful Japanese confectionery. "Teacher Takahashi's words reminded Emily of the professionalism that a wagashi craftsman should uphold: creation is based on quality. So, she regained her composure, extended her visa and continued the competition. Different from other competitors, her creative inspiration came from the Japanese classical short poem "Haiku". Emily quoted Zhang Ji's Tang poem "Night Mooring on the Maple Bridge" as the theme of her creation. There are some short stories in her work. The bridge, the lone boat, and the silhouette of Hanshan Temple projected on the moon were so extraordinary that the judges’ eyes lit up, and Emily finally took it off.Japan Wagashi Promotion AssociationHe was awarded the "Special Jury Award" and returned to Taiwan with the certificate.

 

The appearance of Yoshino cherry blossoms shaped through wagashi is so beautiful that you can’t bear to eat it.

Every step of the process of making wagashi shows Naoto's unique skills.

The universe is kneaded together with one palm! Taiwanese sweet potatoes transformed into Japanese aristocratic desserts
After acquiring professional confectionery skills, Emily decided to continue promoting Japanese confectionery culture in Taiwan after returning to Taiwan. She spent a year in preparation. In addition to importing ingredients from Japan, she also put a lot of effort into finding Taiwanese local ingredients suitable for making wagashi. She combined this with the fact that wagashi originated from the Tang Dynasty in China and was brought back to Japan by envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty. Established a brand called "Tang Hejia", which in Taiwanese is also pronounced as "If Hao Xia (very delicious)". Due to limited start-up funds, "Tang Hejia" does not have a physical store, only an online store. However, the wagashi are delicate and fragile, cannot be transported, and have a short shelf life. They were not optimistic at the beginning of the establishment. Unexpectedly, they succeeded in establishing a unique store. The online wagashi kingdom.

 

The cherry cakes are made by hand on a frying pan, and the difficulty of cooking and shaping skills reaches five stars. They are paired with pickled cherry leaves and wrapped with special cherry leaf fillings to achieve both beauty and taste!

 

There are many reasons for success, including the spirit of "ten days" food. "Japanese food follows the solar terms and eats in season. The selection of Japanese sweets should also maintain this spirit. For me, Taiwan's sweet potatoes are , very suitable as an ingredient for Japanese sweets.” Emily pointed out that sweet potatoes are a common dessert/confection ingredient in Japan, such as baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato cakes (さつまいもmokes),Sweet Potato Yokanetc., but it is rarely used to make "Shangshenggashi" (a high-end Japanese confectionery made from soft raw materials with a delicate taste and carefully crafted appearance. It can be called "artwork in the dessert world". It was used in ancient times. Tributes to nobles and royal families), the Tang He family took a fancy to Taiwanese sweet potatoes, which were easy to obtain and rich in aroma. They ground them into a paste, made them into fillings, and wrapped them in fresh fruits to replace the traditional bean paste fillings. This break from the traditional way of making sweets also gives her wagashi a "Taiwanese flavor." "Sweet potatoes are a memory of the times for Taiwanese people. We are just children raised by sweet potatoes! To me, Wagashi with sweet potato filling is very representative of Taiwan.”

Koi (red bean paste)

First Moon Plum (Red Bean Paste)

Tamaki (matcha filling)

 

The combination of human and fruit brings soul to desserts! Classes for craftsmanship are now starting
Countless flowers and animals are shaped through wagashi, whether it is the first month of the yearplum bossom, early springCherry blossoms, in waterKoi, Mao Nianwhite rabbit, is always so beautiful that people can’t bear to swallow it. “Research and observation are necessary conditions to make the ‘beauty’ of wagashi.” She said, no matter the specific shape or abstract connotation, it cannot just be To simply imitate, you need to make good use of your body and tools, and use your hands and strength to knead the beauty of the wagashi. “Then you need to inject energy into the wagashi to make them come alive.”

Emily believes that "Although wagashi are just small desserts, they secretly absorb the mood of the confectionery maker." For example, she once made"Snow Heart Lotus"Wagashi is a way for her to fully project all her experiences and concepts into the making of wagashi. "The lack of confidence in the past, the courage to leave the comfort zone, and the self-cultivation in recent years have all turned into energy and injected it into this Snow Heart Lotus." After making the wagashi, she took it to a friend's lotus pond and was even regarded as a freshly picked lotus. Now she felt another aspect of wagashi making: making wagashi come alive.

Emily has learned the philosophy of practicing the craftsmanship spirit and continues to cultivate it throughdisciples Inheriting the concept, in addition to teaching fruit-making techniques, she also tirelessly emphasized to her disciples that fruit-making is a process of meditation and a way of self-cultivation. She said with a smile that wagashi are used to convey positive energy so that customers can be full of energy after eating them. “Otherwise, eating them will be full of negative energy, so that’s okay!”

For this confectionery expert, wagashi is like a best friend who talks about everything. This is the realm of "humanity and fruit are one"! "Next, I want to truly combine wagashi creation with art, not through collaboration between different industries, but through exhibitions, paintings, sculptures, etc." "Emily, who couldn't take any time off, gradually completed the inheritance of wagashi culture and continued to think about future creations. It can be seen from her firm eyes that she not only regards wagashi as a traditional Japanese dessert, but also It is a "wagashi art".

 

The exquisite and elegant kaiseki feast at the East Academy of Fine Arts. Pair it with wagashi made by teacher Emily for the finishing touch.

    

About "East Academy of Fine Arts"
An old Japanese-style house located on Kuling Street in Taipei City. It used to be a professor at the Department of Philosophy at National Taiwan University.Fang Dongmei’s former residence, byLiqi ConstructionAfter being revitalized by Chairman Guo Shuzhen, it became a multi-functional art and cultural space, and a kaiseki feast was launched based on Taiwan's seasonal ingredients. As for the meals, they are served by chefs who have been engaged in Japanese cuisine for nearly 30 years.Wang XiangfuIn charge of the desserts, I worked with teacher Emily to change the desserts according to the seasons, so that the banquet would present the beauty of "four seasons picturesque".

 

The Japanese-style building of the "Eastern Academy of Fine Arts" used to be the former residence of Professor Fang Dongmei of National Taiwan University, and now it has been transformed into an art, cultural and gourmet space.

 

Reprinted from · Fertile Taiwan Vol. 12 (June 2023 issue)