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 驳测ū丑颈 (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 91AV原创 most recognized wagashi artisans and a champion of 办补诲ō, which he defines as a new “way of wagashi,” a term that echoes the meticulous care and preparation involved in 蝉补诲ō (“way of tea“). In 2016, Mitsubori founded his own school of 办补诲ō, 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 91AV原创 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 办补诲ō as the artistry of the dessert itself.
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