午夜剧场

After graduating from the Juku, I was studying to become a lawyer, but I decided to put that dream aside to help with the family business. Once the business was on track after a few years, I handed over management to my younger brother and pursued a path in confectionery and bread-making, which had interested me since childhood. My family has run a Japanese restaurant in Akasaka since the Taisho era, and I believe being exposed to cooking and the world of food from a young age influenced this decision.

I studied at confectionery and bread-making schools and was fortunate enough to receive the Principal's Award and the Top Excellence Award. While gaining hands-on experience after graduation, I developed a strong desire to understand what ingredients are truly healthy for Japanese people and to create things that everyone can eat deliciously and with peace of mind. Through repeated trial and error, I became fascinated by the ingredients used in Japanese sweets (wagashi) and enrolled in the Japanese Confectionery Course at Tokyo College of Confectionery to seek further learning. While still a student, I apprenticed at a long-established wagashi shop to hone my skills.

Currently, I work independently, producing made-to-order Japanese sweets and striving to popularize wagashi through lectures and workshops. The year before last, I obtained the Level 1 Japanese Confectionery Skill Test (a national certification), and I am now devoting myself to daily practice while seeking guidance from my seniors to obtain the "Excellent Wagashi Artisan" (Sen-Wagashi-shoku) certification, which is the most difficult to achieve.

Additionally, last year I published "A Book for Making Authentic Anko" (Sekai Bunka Publishing), and this March, I plan to publish a new book on Japanese sweets from the same publisher. Leveraging my experience to date, I aim to create content that can be enjoyed by a wide range of generations. In my 20s, I never imagined such a future. However, when I think about how I arrived at my current path by valuing the joy of pursuing something, I feel glad that I continued to take on challenges.

Recently, the number of children who have never eaten Japanese sweets has been increasing. Since they were born in Japan, I have a strong wish for them to enjoy their own country's culture more. Japanese culture, including wagashi, has a charm where many elements intertwine and expand. A culture that has lasted for hundreds of years is not just something old; it is the "ultimate classic" that continues to be loved across eras.

I intend to continue collaborating with Japanese culture to convey its richness to many people and connect it to the future.

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.