A rapt audience watches in silence as a delicate confection in the shape of a flower blooms in the experienced hands of a wagashi master. Junichi Mitsubori, a third-generation wagashi (Japanese dessert) artisan hailing from Yokosuka City, Kanagawa, does not embellish his movements as he crafts the sugary ²µ²â¨±³ó¾± (glutinous rice flour mochi) with his fingers and a haribashi (stylus).
The audience is gathered for the presentation of ¡°Kado: New Art of Wagashi,¡± Mitsubori¡¯s new bilingual book on the wagashi form. The 43-year-old Mitsubori is one of Japan¡¯s most recognized wagashi artisans and a champion of °ì²¹»å¨, which he defines as a new ¡°way of wagashi,¡± a term that echoes the meticulous care and preparation involved in ²õ²¹»å¨ (¡°way of tea¡°). In 2016, Mitsubori founded his own school of °ì²¹»å¨, the Kado Ichika-ryu, which ¡°uses bespoke utensils and calculated gestures¡± to produce a highly stylized wagashi experience. With his style of wagashi presentation, Mitsubori aspires to create art that will ¡°soothe the soul¡± and communicate Japan¡¯s unique bikan (sense of beauty).
The creation of wagashi goes beyond simply crafting a beautiful dessert, says Mitsubori. It is a performance in which the finale is ¡°moist, perishable living art destined to lose its sculptural beauty. ... This fleeting nature of wagashi, like human life, again captures the heart.¡± To Mitsubori, the beauty of the performance is as crucial to °ì²¹»å¨ as the artistry of the dessert itself.
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