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45-576: Matsue is located at the northernmost point of Shimane Prefecture, between Lake Shinji and Nakaumi on the banks of the Ohashi River connecting the two lakes, though the city proper reaches the Sea of Japan coast. Matsue is the center of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area , which has a population of approximately 600,000 in 2020. The Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area is the fourth largest on

90-559: A confection to suit Japanese tastes. In the Muromachi period (1336–1573), Shokunin utaai ehon ( 職人歌合画本 ) depicted sweet manjū made with sugar. This manjū is considered the prototype of today's manjū. Yōkan was a soup containing sheep meat, but since there was no custom of eating animal meat in Japan, the Japanese replaced the meat with a paste made of kneaded barley or azuki bean flour. Later,

135-649: A directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 34 members. Matsue conributes 11 members to the Shimane Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Shimane 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Matsue is a major regional commercial center and as one of the base cities of the San'in region , and along with Yonago, there are many head offices of companies operating in

180-696: A salon for the upper class. During the Edo period , wagashi developed dramatically, establishing what we know today as wagashi. From the Keicho (1596–1615) to the Kan'ei era (1624–1644), classical Japanese literature and seasonal elegance began to be incorporated into wagashi brand names. During the Genroku era (1688–1704), when the Genroku culture flourished, wagashi with beautiful shapes and colors based on themes from classical literature and seasonal elegance began to be produced under

225-448: A wagashi culture blossomed throughout the country. The design of nerikiri ( 練り切り ) , a beautiful fresh confection with various shapes and colors that characterizes wagashi, was created and developed in Kyoto during this period and spread to all parts of Japan. The brand names and designs of these uniquely Japanese wagashi were compiled and recorded in picture books. The most famous of these

270-472: A wagashi shop in Yamanashi Prefecture created a mizu shingen mochi ( 水信玄餅 , Raindrop cake ) from kanten (agar) and water. The popularity of this wagashi has spread outside of Japan, and derivative products have been created. There are several ways to classify wagashi, including classification by moisture content, ingredients, and production method. The most common classification method

315-599: Is Onmushigashizu ( 御蒸菓子図 ) , which lists the brand names and designs of wagashi from each period of the Edo period in color illustrations. The famous Kyoto wagashi Yatsuhashi ( 八ツ橋 ) was created in 1689 during the Genroku era (1688–1704) or in 1805 during the Bunka era (1804–1818). The name Yatsuhashi comes from a scene in the Tale of Ise or from the musician Yatsuhashi Kengyo , and

360-583: Is 1,791.9 mm (70.55 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.1 °C (80.8 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.6 °C (40.3 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Matsue was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on 1 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −8.7 °C (16.3 °F) on 19 February 1977. Per Japanese census data,

405-506: Is based on moisture content, which is very important because it affects shelf life . According to this classification, sweets with a moisture content of 30% or more are classified as namagashi (wet confectionery) , those with a moisture content of 10% to 30% are classified as han namagashi (half-wet confectionery) , and those with a moisture content of less than 10% are classified as higashi (dry confectionery) . When classified by production method, each type of wagashi

450-594: Is caught using a 'joren', a tool unique to Lake Shinji, which is made up of a basket tethered to a rake. The shellfish is often referred to as one of the 'Shiji-ko Shitchin', the 'Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji.' This Shimane Prefecture location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wagashi Wagashi ( 和菓子 , wa-gashi ) is traditional Japanese Confectionery , typically made using plant-based ingredients and with an emphasis on seasonality. Wagashi generally makes use of cooking methods that pre-date Western influence in Japan. It

495-411: Is classified as neri mono , which is made by kneading ingredients; mushi mono , which is made by steaming; yaki mono , which is made by baking; age mono , which is made by frying; nagashi mono , which is made by pouring ingredients into a mold; uchi mono , which is made by mixing powdered ingredients and sugar into a mold and then hardening the mixture; kake mono , which is made by pouring syrup over

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540-409: Is classified as a wagashi. Mizu shingen mochi ( 水信玄餅 , Raindrop cake ) , created in 2014, was developed by a wagashi shop as a derivative of shingen mochi and is recognized as a wagashi in Japan. In recent years, wagashi shops have developed and marketed many confections that are an eclectic mix of wagashi and Western confections, often referred to as "neo-wagashi". It is believed that

585-524: Is made by steaming a mixture of rice flour, sugar, and cinnamon , stretching the dough thin, and baking it. Yatsuhashi is still a popular souvenir today, and according to a survey conducted by the city of Kyoto in 2022, 89.2% of Japanese tourists visiting Kyoto bought souvenirs, of which 10.7% bought Yatsuhashi. During this time, ame ( 飴 , candy) became popular with the common people. The ingredients of common people's sweets were often inexpensive grain-derived sweeteners rather than expensive sugar. Ame

630-628: Is often served with green tea. Most of today's wagashi were born during the Edo period (1603–1868). This was a period of peace, economic and cultural prosperity, and increased domestic self-sufficiency in sugar. During the Edo period, a series of delicate and beautiful fresh wagashi called nerikiri ( 練り切り ) were created with various shapes and colors that characterize wagashi. Nerikiri are wagashi made by kneading white bean paste, gyūhi , sugar, yams, and other ingredients, and made in various colors and shapes based on seasonal flowers, animals, nature, events, customs, and other themes. In Japan,

675-518: Is the seventh largest in Japan, with a circumference of 48 kilometres (30 mi). It is enclosed by the Shimane Peninsula to the north, and the Izumo and Matsue plains to the west and east respectively. 7,652  ha (18,910 acres) of wetland are a Ramsar Site . Lake Shinji offers an economic benefit to nearby residents in the form of active fisheries and mild tourism opportunities, such as

720-604: The Kyōgoku . Kyōgoku Takatsugu served Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi . Takatsugu's son Tadataka married the 4th daughter of Hidetada, Hatsu. He served in the Battle of Osaka and reportedly took 300 heads. In 1634, he received the province of Izumo, succeeding the childless Horio Tadaharu. During his rule he was instrumental in engineering projects that helped control the flow of the Hiikawa river. In 1637, Tadataka also died childless and

765-599: The Bunka (1804–1818) and Bunsei era (1818–1830), it was possible to obtain amezaiku with the same shape as today's amezaiku. During the Meiji era (1868–1912), when Japan began active trade with the West after the end of its sakoku ( 鎖国 , isolation policy) , Western cooking utensils were brought to Japan. With the advent of the modern oven , many baked confections such as kuri manjū ( 栗饅頭 , chestnut manjū) and kasutera manjū ( カステラ饅頭 , castella manjū) were born. In

810-518: The Nara period (710–794), a food called karakudamono ( 唐菓子 , Chinese confections) was brought to Japan from the Tang dynasty . This food consisted mostly of powdered kneaded rice, wheat , soybeans , and azuki beans , seasoned with sweet miso paste, and fried in oil as the main ingredient. It was prized as a ritual food in various forms, but later fell into disuse in Japan and is now used as an offering to

855-446: The Sea of Japan coast after Niigata , Greater Kanazawa , and Fukui . Matsue has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) with very warm summers and cool winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, and is somewhat heavier in June, July and September. The average annual temperature in Matsue is 15.2 °C (59.4 °F). The average annual rainfall

900-561: The Sengoku period , the Portuguese brought Western confectionery to Japan through the Nanban trade . Kasutera ( カステラ , castella) is a typical confection based on these Western confections. Kasutera was the only exception because it was made from chicken eggs, while Japanese confectionery was made from vegetable ingredients. To suit their own tastes, the Japanese added mizuame ( 水飴 ) to

945-516: The 21st century, wagashi continues to be created. Nama yatsuhashi ( 生八ツ橋 , unbaked or raw Yatsuhashi) , created in 1960, is a very popular souvenir of Kyoto. According to a survey conducted by the City of Kyoto in 2022, 89.2% of Japanese tourists who visited Kyoto bought souvenirs, of which 31.6% bought Nama yatsuhashi. This means that 42.3% of Japanese tourists who bought souvenirs in Kyoto in 2022 bought either Nama yatsuhashi or Yatsuhashi. In 2014,

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990-551: The Buddha in modern Buddhism. Sugar was introduced to Japan around 750, but it was not until 850 years later, around the Edo period, that sugar-based wagashi began to be widely produced. The first beautifully crafted confections were created in the Heian period (794–1185) and are mentioned in The Tale of Genji under the names tsubakimochi ( 椿餅 ) and aosashi ( 青差 ) . Tsubakimochi

1035-583: The Japanese eventually transformed it into an all-sugar confection with a zarame ( ザラメ , coarse sugar) center. From the Sengoku period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period , wagashi developed along with the Japanese tea ceremony , and delicate, beautiful, and aesthetically pleasing confections began to emerge. The Japanese tea ceremony was used as a secret meeting place for daimyō ( 大名 , feudal lords) and as

1080-461: The Matsue clan, when he built Matsue castle and planned the surrounding town over a five-year period from 1607 to 1611. Matsue continued to be the seat of Matsue Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate until the Meiji restoration . Horio Yoshiharu's son Tadauji died before his father, thus the province was inherited by his grandson Tadaharu. However, Tadaharu died childless so the province was passed on to

1125-545: The San'in region. Agriculture, commercial fishing and tourism play major roles in the local economy; however, the city has only a small industrial base. Matsue has 33 public elementary school, 17 public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the city government, and seven public high schools operated by the Shimane Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture operates five special education schools for

1170-508: The West termed yōgashi (洋菓子). However, wagashi was not the common term for Japanese confectionery until after the Second World War. The definition of wagashi is ambiguous, and the line between wagashi and other types of Japanese confectionery is vague. For example, although the original kasutera ( castella ) was introduced from Portugal, it has been around for more than 400 years and has been modified to suit Japanese tastes, so it

1215-427: The city beyond the previous temples along with the development of misemono (street performance) . The traditional Japanese scissors were indispensable for the production of amezaiku, and when the production of iron increased dramatically with the invention of the balance bellows in tatara iron manufacturing (たたら製鉄), the production of scissors also increased, contributing to the production of amezaiku. During

1260-562: The city. Various traditional festivals are still held, such as Dōgyōretsu, a drum parade held annually on the third Sunday of October, and Hōranenya, one of Japan's top three boat festivals that is held only once every 10 years (most recently in May 2019). Lake Shinji Lake Shinji ( 宍道湖 , Shinji-ko ) is a lake in the northeast area of the Shimane Prefecture in Japan . The lake

1305-623: The domain passed to the Matsudaira clan . Naomasa was the third son of Tokugawa Hideyasu . Hideyasu, daimyō of Echizen Province , himself was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu , making Naomasa the grandson of the first Tokugawa Shōgun. Naomasa made a name for himself fighting in the Battle of Osaka at the age of 14. He was daimyō of Ono in Echizen and later Matsumoto in Shinano Province before becoming

1350-518: The first food eaten as a confection in Japan was a processed food from the Jomon period . It is thought to have been either a food made by kneading chestnuts into a powder and then baking and hardening it with eggs and salt, or a food made by adding animal flesh to chestnut flour and baking and hardening it. During the Yayoi period , dango ( 団子 , dumpling) were made from grain or rice flour . During

1395-505: The handicapped. There are also four private high schools. [REDACTED] JR West (JR West) - San'in Main Line [REDACTED] JR West (JR West) - Kisuki Line [REDACTED] Ichibata Electric Railway (Bataden) - Kita-Matsue Line Matsue's sister cities are: Although not an official friendship city of Matsue, there has been ongoing exchange with Dublin , Ireland since 1988 when former mayor Nakamura Yoshijirō visited

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1440-543: The influence of the Rimpa school of art. Self-sufficiency in sugar increased when Tokugawa Yoshimune , the eighth Tokugawa shogun , encouraged the production of sugar. In Sanuki Province , which is now Kagawa Prefecture , sugar called wasanbon ( 和三盆 ) was produced. The common people began to eat wagashi that used a lot of sugar, and various types of wagashi were produced, especially in Kyoto. Local wagashi specialties began to be produced in various regions of Japan, and

1485-420: The ingredients; and ame mono , which is made by boiling down the sugar and hardening it, and so on. For example, yōkan can be classified as either namagashi (wet confectionery) or han namagashi (half-wet confectionery) , depending on the product, as the moisture content varies from product to product. It is also classified as nagashi mono because it is made by pouring kanten (agar) into

1530-407: The manjū and yōkan brought to Japan by the monks were not sweets as we know them today, but were prepared in a completely different way. At that time, manjū was not confection, did not contain red bean paste, and were not sweet. The history book Sōgo ōzōshi ( 宗五大草紙 ) clearly describes manjū as a dish eaten with chopsticks along with soup and pickles. Later, manjū changed from a light meal to

1575-491: The population of Matsue in 2020 is 203,616 people. Matsue has been conducting censuses since 1920. Matsue is located within ancient Izumo Province and there are many archaeological sites from the Yayoi , Kofuns and Nara periods within the city borders. The area was also the stronghold of the Amago clan during the Sengoku period . The present-day castle town of Matsue was originally established by Horio Yoshiharu , lord of

1620-645: The rice cake was filled with red bean paste . Confectionery of this period was food offered to the nobility. During the Kamakura period (1185–1333), Japanese Buddhist monks who studied in the Song dynasty brought the tea culture to Japan, and the custom of eating confections with tea began in Japan. The monks also introduced tenshin ( 点心 , dim sum ) , a light meal, and the history book Teikun ōrai ( 庭訓往来 ) mentions manjū ( 饅頭 ) , yōkan ( 羊羹 ) , and udon ( 饂飩 ) as tenshin ( 点心 ) . However,

1665-413: The ruler of Izumo 1638. Unlike the previous rulers Naomasa had children and his heirs managed to keep Izumo for ten generations until the end of the Edo period . Overall, ten Matsudaira daimyō ruled Matsue. The most famous after the first (Matsudaira Naomasa) is the seventh, Matsudaira Harusato , more commonly referred to as Fumai (不昧公). He revolutionized the administrative system of the Matsue clan which

1710-479: The soup was removed and replaced with a pasty confection made of barley or azuki bean flour. Finally, around 1800, during the Edo period (1603–1868), 500 years later, yōkan became what it is today. The invention of kanten ( 寒天 , agar ) in the 1600s was essential to the birth of modern yokan. Later, the kanten invented in Japan was introduced to Manchuria, Korea and Taiwan. The udon was also very different from today's udon, more like wonton . (餛飩). During

1755-421: The sponge cake to make it more moist, and zarame ( ザラメ , coarse sugar) , was added to the bottom of the sponge cake to give it a coarser texture. As trade increased, so did sugar imports. The prototype of konpeitō ( 金平糖 ) was also brought to Japan through trade with Portugal and Spain. While Kompeitō, introduced from Portugal, was a sugar-coated confection with a poppy seed or sesame seed center,

1800-489: The various hot spring resorts built along the lake's coast and sunset cruises offered by local companies. Lake Shinji is connected to the Sea of Japan via Nakaumi Lagoon , and as a result is made up of brackish water of good quality, which adds to the abundance of aquatic life, such as whitebait , eel , sea bass , and the most famous Lake Shinji delicacy , the Shijimi clam ( Corbicula japonica ). The Shijimi shellfish

1845-458: The word for sweets or confectionery, kashi ( 菓子 ) , originally referred to fruits and nuts. Fruits and nuts may be eaten as snacks between meals and served as "sweets" during a tea ceremony. The word Wa means "Japanese", and kashi becomes gashi in compound words, wagashi therefore means "Japanese confectionery". In 1603, the first year of the Edo period (1603–1868), the term kashi ( 菓子 ) meant both confectionery and fruit, and

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1890-421: Was in financial difficulties and put it back on its feet. He invested in mulberry bushes and promoted special foods like shijimi clams that were a delicacy in Matsue. Harusato was a great enthusiast of Japanese tea ceremony . Because his influence on wagashi , Japanese sweets for the tea ceremony from Matsue are famous, especially one called wakakusa . Matsue has a mayor-council form of government with

1935-501: Was more commonly used to refer to fruit. For example, the Japanese-Portuguese dictionary of the time describes "quaxi" (菓子) as "fruit, especially fruit eaten after a meal." The term mizugashi ( 水菓子 , water confections) , which is used to refer to fruit today, is a remnant of the same term. The word wagashi was coined at the end of 1800s to distinguish Japanese confectionery from sweets, cakes and baked goods introduced from

1980-408: Was originally a confection that was not fried in oil, which was unusual among karakudamono, but it was later changed to suit the tastes of the Japanese people. In the beginning, it was a mochi made by coating rice flour with a sweetener made from the juice of boiled vine grass and wrapping it in camellia leaves. Later, the sweetener made from the juice of boiled vine grass was replaced by sugar, and

2025-500: Was so popular that many people came up with creative ways to sell it. Peddlers sold ame by performing various tricks while walking the streets of the city, displaying karakuri puppet (traditional Japanese mechanized puppets), and dressing up as women. In the Kan'ei era (1624–1644), peddlers began selling a variety of wagashi to the general public in addition to ame. The production of amezaiku ( 飴細工 , candy craft artistry) , elaborate animal-shaped amezaiku, spread throughout

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