Today, I was watching NHK's "What to Do with Ieyasu" and they were talking about konpeito, so I decided to look into it.

Japanese Konpeito

Portuguese Confeito

Konpeito is a beautiful food, isn't it? It's colorful, small, and cute. I thought it was a traditional Japanese confectionery, but it turns out it's actually a Portuguese confectionery.

Portuguese missionary Luis Frois, when he visited the warlord Oda Nobunaga at Nijo Castle in Kyoto, gave him several candles and a flask of konpeito.

In "What to Do with Ieyasu," konpeito seems to be such a high-class food that one piece is equivalent to building a castle.

1. The origin of Konpeito

Konpeito was one of the foreign items brought from Portugal in 1546.

Among these items, it was a particularly beautiful confectionery that caught people's attention.

Oda Nobunaga was also gifted by the missionary and was said to be very surprised by its shape and taste.

At that time, it was very rare and considered a valuable item that could only be eaten by aristocrats and high-ranking samurai, and its production method was a complete secret.

It was only after konpeito began to be made in Japan, starting in Nagasaki and then spreading to Kyoto and Edo, that it became popular and familiar to everyone.

2. The language of Konpeito

In Portuguese, it's called "confeito."

In the past, it was also called "konbeito," but now, depending on the regional dialect, there are slight differences, with "konpento" in the Kansai region and "konpeito" in the Kanto region and further north.

3. How are konpeito spikes formed?

The question of how konpeito spikes are formed has been a long-standing mystery. To put it simply, when the core "rice" rolls from the top of the pot to the bottom, the syrup that touches the iron plate dries and hardens slightly.

This creates a slight protrusion, making it easier for syrup to stick to other areas, and the protruding part gradually grows into a spike.

Since the pot is tilted and rotates, konpeito falls and rolls, resulting in spikes forming in multiple locations.

4. The number of konpeito artisans is declining

In recent years, konpeito has become more accessible as sugar has become more readily available, but the production of handmade konpeito requires the skill and expertise of trained artisans, leading to a decline in the number of konpeito manufacturers.

There seems to be a shop selling high-quality konpeito in Kyoto.

The Kyoto city bus all-you-can-ride pass is said to end sales in September this year, so please take the opportunity to visit if you can.