Sanuki Wasanbon
Sanuki Wasanbon (Hand-Refined Sugar and Dry Confections of Kagawa)
Sanuki Wasanbon refers to wasanbon (fine Japanese sugar) made in places such as Higashikagawa City in eastern Kagawa Prefecture, and the higashi (dry confections) made with it. Wasanbon is a sugar made from a slender sugarcane called chikuto (native sugarcane), finished by draining off the molasses by hand; its grains are fine and it melts away smoothly in the mouth. Sugar making in Sanuki is said to have begun in the mid-Edo period when Matsudaira Yoritaka, lord of the Takamatsu domain, ordered research into it. Sakiyama Shukei, a physician who carried on this aspiration, is said to have succeeded in producing white sugar. Together with salt and cotton, sugar became one of the specialties known as the 'Sanuki Sanpaku' (Three Whites of Sanuki). Today, sugar mills and confectionery shops in Higashikagawa City still preserve the traditional method, and dry confections shaped like seasonal flowers and other motifs are enjoyed as sweets for the tea ceremony and as souvenirs.
Origin
Matsudaira Yoritaka, the fifth lord of the Takamatsu domain, is said to have turned his attention to drought-resistant sugarcane in order to rebuild the domain's finances, and ordered the domain physician Ikeda Genjo to research sugar making. Sakiyama Shukei, who studied under Genjo, was a physician from Minato Village in Ouchi District (present-day Higashikagawa City). Carrying on his teacher's aspiration, and with the cooperation of Seki Ryosuke and others from Satsuma (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture), he is said to have succeeded in cultivating sugarcane and producing white sugar.
History
According to Kagawa Prefecture's materials, Shukei is said to have planted sugarcane on a field of about 1 hectare in 1790 (Kansei 2) and made 50 kin (about 30 kg) of sugar. Afterward, sugarcane fields spread across the Tosan (eastern Sanuki) area, and sugar making became a major industry. Shukei and Seki Ryosuke are enshrined at Koryo Shrine in Shirotori, Higashikagawa City. Mitani Seito, founded in 1804 (Bunka 1), is said to be one of the five houses first permitted by the domain to make sugar.
Features
Chikuto is pressed, and its juice is boiled down, cooled and solidified to make 'shiroshita-to.' Water is added to this little by little and it is kneaded by hand on a board in a process called togi (kneading); it is then wrapped in cloth and weighted down in a wooden box called an 'oshifune' to squeeze out the molasses. After this togi and pressing are repeated many times, the sugar is dried and sifted to finish. For Sanuki Wasanbon, the process is often said to be repeated five or more times to bring out its whiteness.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
Dry confections made by packing wasanbon into wooden molds are enjoyed as sweets for the tea ceremony and as gifts. The kashi kigata (wooden confectionery molds) that determine the shapes of dry confections are also designated as a Kagawa Prefecture Designated Traditional Craft. The molds of Ichihara Yoshihiro, a Traditional Craftsperson (dento kogeishi) said to be the only confectionery mold maker in Shikoku, are known for their precision.
Famous Shops
三谷製糖羽根さぬき本舗
香川県東かがわ市馬宿156-8
A sugar mill founded in 1804 (Bunka 1) that makes wasanbon by hand from locally grown sugarcane, using tools handed down through the generations. According to a feature article, 155 g of wasanbon costs 648 yen, and 600 g of shiroshita-to, which can be used for simmered dishes and the like, costs 1,080 yen.
View details →ばいこう堂 本店
香川県東かがわ市引田大川140-4
A wasanbon confectionery shop in Hiketa where craftspeople make wasanbon and dry confections by hand using sugarcane grown in Kagawa Prefecture. Its bite-sized dry confections shaped like seasonal flowers and animals are popular. It is about a 7-minute walk from JR Hiketa Station.
讃州井筒屋敷
香川県東かがわ市引田2163
A facility in Hiketa, where an old townscape remains, offering a mold-pressing experience in which you pack wasanbon into wooden molds to make dry confections. National tourism materials introduce the wooden molds used here as the work of Ichihara Yoshihiro, said to be the only confectionery mold maker in Shikoku.
| Shiki no Hana (三谷製糖羽根さぬき本舗) | An assortment of dry confections made solely from Sanuki wasanbon, with shapes that change with the seasons. The wooden molds are said to have been commissioned from a local craftsperson. According to a feature article, a box of 30 pieces costs 1,188 yen, and the best-before period is about 300 days. |
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FAQ
Q. What does 'sanbon' in wasanbon mean?
A. It is said to come from the process of polishing the sugar on a tray (bon), and to have come to be called 'sanbon' (three trays) because the sugar was polished three times on a tray. However, for Sanuki Wasanbon, togi and draining of the molasses are often repeated five or more times to bring out its whiteness, so the number is not limited to three. It is different from 'sanonto,' a brown sugar with a similar-sounding name.
Q. What is 'Sanuki Sanpaku'?
A. It is a collective name for three white products — sugar, salt and cotton — that were specialties of Sanuki in the Edo period. Sakiyama Shukei is named as the person who began refining white sugar, and his former residence and Koryo Shrine, where he is enshrined, remain in Shirotori, Higashikagawa City.