Wagashi #2 Yamakawa 山川 Mountain River

History of Yamakawa
  "Yamakawa" is one of the famous sweets of all Japan. One part is pink and the other is white. "Pink" represents the mountain of colored red leaves and "White" represents the river. In 1806, Lord Humai, the ruler in the Izumo region made "Yamakawa" a sweet shop in Edo. The first "Yamakawa" was three pieces, a pink piece, a white piece and another pink one on top. But, "Yamakawa" ceased to be made from 1867. In 1887,Naito Takejiro revived "Yamakawa" to help his recover. "Yamakawa" is famous as a fall sweet.

Culture of Yamakawa

Yamakawa is a standard and traditional sweet used for Buddhist rituals and as a present for guests at happy events.

It was prized as a sweet for guests in the Izumo Clan until the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

This is the traditional way to eat this wagashi; you split it into two by breaking it over your finger.

Yamakawa, was a sweet that was first made in the Edo period. Its recipe was lost in the revolution from the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji era. The people who wanted to recreate “Yamakawa” read the few remaining books about Yamakawa and visited the elders and people who liked the tea ceremony to learn more. At last, they could recreate Yamakawa about 100 years after the recipe was lost.

Yamakawa could be recreated because the people who live in Matsue often have the tea ceremony and love wagashi.

Roots of the name "Yamakawa- 山川"

 『散るは浮き　ちらぬは沈む 紅葉ばの　影は高尾の　山川の水』 In the place of the autumn leaves, The autumn leaves floated on the water when they have fallen. And if they do not fall they sink into the water. The shade is the water of a high mountain river The name of  山川　is from this Waka or Japanese poem. 山 means mountain, 川 means river.  This Waka expresses a Japanese autumn scene.

Taste

 Yamakawa's appearance is a rectangle and a little hard.

But the texture is grainy, fluffy and melts in your mouth.

When you break it, the broken part looks like a mountain.

The color is light pink and white. It has a simple and pleasing appearance.