Reevaluation of Wagashi’s Characteristics: How Heian Period Literature Influenced Edo Period Wagashi



Author Information

Nunnita Lathifah Azhar, Kansai University, Japan

Abstract

This research examines the influence of Edo period wagashi (Japanese confections) and Heian literature. For the study, the author has selected Kashifu, a document that preserves information about wagashi which provides clear names and illustrations of wagashi from the Edo period. This study explores the connection between the names and designs of wagashi and their intended links to historical literature. Previous research has discussed the influence of poems on wagashi, but the influence of prose is still undefined. Therefore, this research considers poetry and prose when examining the connections between the names and designs of wagashi. The results suggest a direct and indirect relationship between the names and designs of Edo period’s wagashi with poems and prose works from the Heian period. The direct connection is indicated by descriptions in the texts of the Heian period. On the other hand, the indirect relationship is evident from adaptations of Heian literature in literary works created after the Heian period, demonstrating that these works are incomplete without references to Heian literature.


Paper Information

Conference: KAMC2025
Stream: Language and Cultural Studies

This paper is part of the KAMC2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Azhar N. (2026) Reevaluation of Wagashi’s Characteristics: How Heian Period Literature Influenced Edo Period Wagashi ISSN: 2436-0503 – The Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 301-312) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2025.25
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2025.25


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