There's poetry in the creation of traditional wagashi

A beautiful mother-of-pearl presentation box for sweets, thought to date from around 1698.

In early summer, they might evoke dewy irises and swirling water. In autumn, plume grass trembling in the wind. Quite obviously, Japanese sweets are more than a mouthful of sweetness: They evoke the poetry and beauty of life itself.

The very earliest sweets were fruits and nuts such as dried persimmons and chestnuts, but through Japanese people's love of ceremonial gifts and festivals, and their belief in the power of symbolism, sweets in this country have evolved into an elaborate, edible art form.

The word wagashi, meaning "Japanese-style confectionery," was created in the late-19th century in response to the influx of an exotic wave of Western sweets, such as chocolates and ice creams. Before then, dry sweets, fresh sweets, rice cakes smothered with bean jam and even salty rice crackers, were all simply known as kashi of one kind or another. However, there was always a world of difference between the exquisite confectionery crafted for the aristocracy and the simple dumplings that occasionally sweetened the lives of the ordinary people.

Remarkably, we have a good idea of early, high-class confectionery because much of it is still with us today.

The kitchen at famed Tokyo confectionary Toraya in 1909.

Camellia rice cakes mentioned in the "The Tale of Genji," auspicious wedding sweets shaped like turtles and cranes to symbolize long life, even the "refreshing dish of snow" described by a British visitor to Japan in the summer of 1878, have all stood the test of time. The "snow," for example, was a summer dessert as long ago as the 10th century: In her "Pillow Book," the court lady Sei Shonagon includes "shaved ice mixed with syrup and put in a silver bowl" in her list of "elegant things."

Nowadays, it might have suspiciously bright green "melon"-flavored syrup poured over it in a plastic cup, but Lady Shonagon enjoyed a far purer sweetener. According to Keiko Nakayama, curator at the famed confectioner Toraya, "the original sweetener came from ivy. It was simmered and concentrated, rather like maple syrup. Sugar first arrived in the eighth century, and it is said that the monk Ganjin brought it here from China. But it was so precious, it was used as a medicine!"

Mizu no yadori

Toraya has been making confectionery for the Imperial Court for perhaps 1,200 years, following their patrons as the capital moved from Nara to Heian Kyo (Kyoto) in the eighth century, and again to Tokyo in the 19th century.

Despite fire, war and earthquakes, this family business has managed to preserve thousands of historical documents, pattern books, and carved, cherry-wood sweet molds. That is how Toraya's master confectioners can still craft historic sweetmeats. Some are for sale in their elegant shops, and some are currently on display in the company's exhibition gallery.

Symbol of the universe

There is, for example, a white circular rice cake topped by a triangle of sweet red-bean paste. This is no less than an ancient symbol of the universe, representing yin and yang, and these cakes are still made for the Imperial Family every New Year's.

A modern azuki-bean and cacao-fondant sweet PHOTO COURTESY OF TORAYA CAFE

With growing prosperity in the Edo Period (1603-1867), commoners could also enjoy the occasional treat, and sweets such as taiyaki wafers, in lucky shapes such as fish, and filled with bean jam, were eaten piping hot from festival stalls.

Fortunately, there are still a few places where you can try fresh, handmade bean jam, such as at the old sweet shop called Takemura in Tokyo's Kanda district. Although it is now surrounded by gray office blocks, Takemura still has its bamboo fence and a pot of flowers blooming by the door. These atmospheric premises have hardly changed since being built in 1930, and it is worth visiting for the architecture alone. Most people, though, go for a gleaming lacquer bowl of awa-zenzai -- the shop's specialty of steamed millet topped with hot bean jam.

Kikuo Hotta, the second-generation owner, remembers when the shop was busy until late at night "delivering sweets to geisha in the entertainment district, near Kanda Miyojin Shrine." He also recalls when, as a boy, he lent his father a hand. "It was hard on a winter's morning, rinsing the shells off beans in freezing water," he recalls.

Although the small kitchen has a few simple machines, Hotta and his brother continue to make sweets the old-fashioned way. And they still welcome guests with sakura-yu (cherry-blossom tea).

A Taisho Era rice-flower cake in a complex design called "Flower Contest"

But Yukio Ichigawa, general manager of the brand new Toraya Cafe, is looking to the future. He wants Japanese sweets to enter "a borderless world." Interviewed at the stylish cafe in a tree-lined boulevard of Roppongi Hills, over fresh, contemporary desserts and Chinese chrysanthemum tea, Ichigawa explained that the Toraya Cafe is designed to appeal to a younger, more casual generation. "Although our parent company has such a long history," he said, "we are always moving forward. When we opened our shop in Paris, for example, it was not enough to simply introduce Japanese sweets and culture. We wanted to learn from the European tradition, too."

Perhaps that is why the latest confectionery is a subtle blend of East and West. I tried a rich "fondant" which combines the flavors of two classic beans, azuki and cocoa, and also sampled a beautiful "azuki tea kanten jelly." The glimmering jelly is served on a circle of two azuki-bean sauces: one half is caramel-dark, the other half is pearly white. There it was again: the timeless symbol of yin and yang -- yet this new confection is designed to taste good with coffee!

Are the spirits of those ancient makers of tea-ceremony sweets wringing their hands? Probably not. The simple, understated elegance. The purity of flavors. And my host's courteous invitation to go-yukkuri dozo ("please take your time") would all be reassuringly familiar to the artistic confectioners of old Japan.

The exhibition "Five Hundred Years of Toraya" is at the Toraya Gallery, Toraya Building, 4-9-22 Akasaka, Minato-ku till June 16. For more information, call (03) 3408 2402.

Takemura sweet shop is at Kanda Sudacho 1-19, Chiyoda-ku. Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m., closed Sunday. For more information, call (03) 3251-2328

Toraya Cafe is at 6-12-2 Roppongi-keyakizakadori, Roppongi Hills. Open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. For more information, call (03) 5786 9811.