Toraya Ichijo

Located minutes away from the Imperial Palace in Kyoto is the oldest operating location of Toraya, a wagashi confectionery maker. Here, you can enjoy their signature sweets as well as a menu of other Japanese desserts and beverages while overlooking a traditional Japanese garden. Also available at this location is a small collection of books on Japanese culture and wagashi.

We had decided to eat a late “breakfast” at the cafe to start off what was the most inadvisably-ambitious eating day of the entire trip. After arriving and finding out that the cafe opening hours were actually one hour later than the next door Toraya store, with time to kill, we ambled over to the Palace gift shop and cafe, where we pregamed with a katsusando and yuzu ice cream.

After returning, I proved once again that my eyes are bigger than my stomach, as we each ordered dessert, but I - I ordered four additional wagashi. What I thought would be bite-sized pieces turned out to be, to my horror, each about the size of a middle-schooler’s fist. It was all delicious, even if the most on-brand, poor choice to start a day of intense, nonstop eating.

A small, free bite to start the experience. These are yokan, a somewhat firm and thick sweet made of bean paste.

Anmitsu: jelly cubes, sweet beans, red bean paste, ume plum, served with kuromitsu (black sugar) syrup.

Kuzukiri. A summertime dessert of noodles made from kudzu starch. They are served in icy cold water, here with two agar jellies, and are dipped into a kuromitsu (black sugar) syrup.

Upper Left: “Made by Yokan "Fukiage no Hama" First appearance year: Hoei 7th year (1710). The Nishihama area at the mouth of the Kinokawa River in Wakayama Prefecture was once called "Fukiage no Hama", and the appearance of chrysanthemums blooming on the beach has been sung in songs. "Fukiage no Hama" is an elegant and quaint sweet that shows the chrysanthemum flowers shimmering in the beach breeze.”

Bottom Right: “ "Kurikanoko" First appearance year: 1912 (Meiji 45) Kanoko is a sweet made by adding sweetly boiled beans to a bean paste, which is likened to "Kanoko mottle" (white spots on the back of a deer). "Chestnut Kanoko" uses chestnuts instead of beans, giving a fruitful autumn feel.”

The upper left was a pressed white bean paste (?) variety wagashi, and the bottom right had pieces of chestnut surrounding a center of bean paste mixed with chopped pieces of chestnut.

Upper Left: “September 13th, tonight is the harvest moon. It is said that the custom of viewing the moon was introduced from China during the Nara period, and it was popular among aristocrats during the Heian period. Later, it was linked to agricultural rituals and became an annual event.
Made by Yabu, "Feast of the Moon (Gekka no Utage)" First appearance year: 2002
It is a dioscorea bun made after the moon viewing. The green and yellow scents (colors) and branding irons express the rabbits who stand up from the grass and love the moon.”

Bottom Center: [This one was my favorite!] “ “Chestnut rice cake (Kurikomochi) ” First appearance year: Genroku 13 (1700) It is a sweet made from a mixture of chestnuts and white bean paste. Please enjoy the taste and aroma of chestnuts that represent the taste of autumn.”

The upper left was a manju style wagashi. The bottom center was a white bean paste variety with bean paste in the center, and this specific one had a whole chestnut in the middle.

Later this same trip:

“Yokan "Hiroha no Fusa" First appearance year: Taisho 7 (1918)

"Bunch of broad leaves" is shaped like a bunch of grapes that have grown abundantly under the thick leaves. This confectionery name is thought to have come from the fact that the leaves of wide plants are called broad leaves. The grapes hanging from the shelves are reminiscent of the swaying landscape of the autumn breeze.”

This wagashi is a pressed white bean paste (?) type.
Location: Toraya Marunouchi

“Made by Kinton "Murasakino" First appearance year: Tenpo 11th year (1840)

Kyoto Murasakino is still famous as a place with many historical temples and shrines such as Daitokuji Temple, but during the Heian period it was one of the seven Heian fields and was also a hunting ground for the imperial court. The purple-colored Kinton is reminiscent of the ancient atmosphere of Murasakino.”

The outside was of white bean paste, and if I remember, there were two types of bean paste in the center.
Location: Toraya Marunouchi

Upper Left: [I LOVED this!!] “September 19th is the equinoctial week. The equinoctial week is 7 days including 3 days before and after the spring equinox and autumn equinox. It is the turn of the season, as it is said that the heat and cold are on the other side of the river. On the equinoctial week, ancestral memorial services such as visiting graves are held, and the offerings are eaten by the family and distributed to relatives and neighbors. In addition, as the sun sets in the west, the custom of worshiping the setting sun toward the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati Pure Land) remains.
"ohagi" The azuki bean grain of Ogura bean was likened to a hagi flower and was named "Ohagi". “

Bottom Right: “ "Hatsukari" made by Yabu First appearance year: Hoei 4th year (1707) as a sweet. The geese that came for the first time in the year are called the first geese and have been sung in many songs since ancient times. "Hatsugoose" is a sweet that expresses the taste of autumn by branding a round goose bun with a branding iron.”

The upper left has a center of sticky rice surrounded by sweet bean paste, with the choices of Ogura (red) bean paste, brown sugar bean paste, and white bean paste. I chose brown sugar, and although simple, it was amazing.
The bottom right, if I remember correctly, is a manju style (steamed bean, slightly firm) and filled with red bean paste.
Location: Toraya Marunouchi

Date: September 2019