Nomori no Kagami

Elegant pastged white miso based bean jam and light texture monaka, wafer dough

Chiyonoya Takemura who has been making wagashi, traditional Japanese confection, in Nara since 1701, is the oldest and most established wagashi store in Nara City.  “Nomori no Kagami” we bought this time is a monaka, bean-jam-filled wafers, which has a long history as a famous confectionery and has presented to the Imperial royal family.

The story of the confectionery derives from a happening while the 21st emperor, Yusaku, went for falconry.  An hawk ran away, and a guardian of the field saw the shadow of the hawk reflectied in a puddle, and caught it skillfully, and brought it back home. The guardian was praised. The confection name means guardian’s mirror so that mirror should comes from reflecting in a water.   The story is a bit confusing, but this is what fables and myths are all about, isn’t it?

A deer mark is stamped on the face of the white wafer dough.   The same deer mark is also stamped on the Nara Manju , Nara bun, made by the same maker, Chiyonosha Takemura, and when you think of Nara, deer should come first in your mind.

A sweet pasted bean jam is sandwitched, and the jam is made of white miso paste.

The contrast between the beautiful pasted golden red bean jam and the white wafer dough is beautiful.

The texture of the monaka wafer dough is very light, and the pasted white miso-based bean jam has a gentle sweetness that brings an elegant flavor together. It tastes of long-established tradition.