When we get to stage where we become major Kabuki actors, first of all, we are given private instruction by our seniors, and so we sometimes take gifts to practice for our teachers. Outside the world of Kabuki too, you can’t go wrong with confectionary from Sembikiya for gifts to give people such as friends after their performances or at practice.

The first criteria in deciding on what to give is whether or not you like the confectionary yourself. Quite simply, I like Deluxe Jelly myself, so this is an item I want others to try.

I lived in Ginza until I was twenty, and my grandmother would often take me out for tea and I also used to go to Sembikiya myself. Perhaps I go to Sembikiya now to buy gifts because it brings back memories of those days.

I have had the grapefruit jelly, but my personal favorite is the orange jelly. This jelly really has the taste of the fruit itself and, above all, I really like the appearance of the jelly in a whole fruit.

When I go to perform in the provinces, I find confections that use local specialties, but, and this is true of Tokyo, I feel that it’s probably difficult to imagine confectionary with the emphasis on specialty ingredients. In this sense, Tokyo seems to offer both advantages and disadvantages. One can get one’s hands on more or less any ingredients from anywhere, and I imagine this must be make life difficult for makers. Still, if all goes well, items unique in the world may be created. This may be the appeal of Tokyo confectionary.

I was given some walnut cookies by a fan, about five years ago, I think. The picture of the squirrel on the box is so cute!! And this made me more excited. I think this would cheer any girl up. The amount of powdered sugar sprinkled on the cookies also impressed me and I found the cookies really delicious. The sweet flavor of walnuts was just right, and the cookies had a light texture. They look like a Go piece. This hadn’t occurred to me at all (laughter). But the cookies are round and cute.

You can choose messages such as “Thank you” or “Good job” and seasonal pictures for the box so, the other day, I went ahead and shared some of the cookies with students and staff at my Go Class. One’s mental condition really plays a big part in playing a game of Go. Because severe ups and downs in your feelings make you tired, I try to maintain calm in my daily life too. In this sense, when I see these cute pictures, I think they help me relax in my daily life.

When I heard from one of my seniors to whom I am indebted that she loved this chocolate cake, I sometimes took some to her. I have also enjoyed this chocolate cake from I can’t remember when. I think products at popular long-established stores have a refined appearance. This cake also contains walnuts and I do like nuts. The sweetness of the cream and chocolate flavor are both just right. Mini-size cakes are available, and this is just right for me, my husband and son. When I get the urge, I buy one to take home.

At title matches, between-meal snacks are sometimes served as well as lunch. Some people choose fruit and local confectionary is also sometimes served. I travel around Japan and overseas to spread Igo, and there is always delicious local confectionary wherever I go. Still, because I was born in Tokyo, I find that Tokyo confectionary suits my taste. A lot of people in Tokyo are particular about what they eat, and competition is fierce, so you can’t go wrong with shops that have been around for a long time.

Whenever I eat at Tokyo Kaikan, this is the dessert I always order. I have also been given Marron Chantilly as a gift, and the fact that one has to go to the trouble of going to pick it up because it’s a fresh confection adds to its worth. I think that a “treat” is something that you have to go to some trouble for. I’m always grateful when I’m given something that someone has gone to a lot of trouble for.

Although this is a western-style confection, I think it’s very Japanese. Strained chestnuts are wrapped in fresh cream and this seems to me to resemble Manju (yeast bun with a filling). When you cut up Manju and confections with Kinton (mashed sweet potato with chestnut) served at tea ceremonies, for example, with a small wooden pick, you find the colors of the inside are sometimes different, aren’t they? The exterior of Marron Chantilly is pure white and the inside a golden color. This gives a real sense of occasion and makes one feel a sense of purity.

The dimensions like a bowl turned upside down is a shape that suits “Marunouchi” in Tokyo. When I was twenty, I came to Tokyo to go to university. The Tokyo that so appealed to me then has really changed, but for me, this Marron Chantilly symbolizes the “Marunouchi” of my imagination. I have heard that Marron Chantilly is a confection that the chief confectioner at Tokyo Kaikan thought up around 1950.


The most important thing in confectionary and boxed lunches, for example, is they be easy to eat. This is what tea ceremony masters tell us. It is important that items of food do not spill and stain the kimono when eating. Marron Chantilly does not break up because the content is wrapped in fresh cream. The proportion of chestnut in the cream has been carefully considered to make the confection easy to eat, making this a uniquely perfect confection.

Ume Monaka (Wafer case filled with plum paste), Mikasayama (Sweet red bean paste sandwiched between two pancakes), American Manju… These are the types I always order. When you open the lid of the box full of all kinds of confections, I think it probably quickens my heartbeat a little. In my novel called “Hitamen,” I wrote about “Sadako,” Yukio Mishima’s lover, and the owner of Baikatei was a friend of Sadako when she was a first grader at the same Keio Girls Senior High School. A long-established shop that has been in business since 1850, Baikatei is a familiar, unpretentious establishment with low-key advertising.

After banquets in the Karyukai (world of geisha) of olden times, the host would give the invited guests Wagashi as gifts. These were called “Ohikigashi (ornamental confections)” by the geisha in Shinbashi of olden times and mainly consisted of high-quality confections packed into a tiered box tied with decorative twisted paper cords. The confectionary of Baikatei are delicious eat at any time. These are Tokyo confections of old and go very well with drinks such as coarse tea or strong roasted green tea.

Although, nowadays, people prefer confectionary that is not too sweet, conversely this kind of unreservedly sweet confectionary is ideal as a gift for young people. I want to spread the idea that this is what real confectionary is like. Even though sweet, carefully selected sugar is used, so there is nothing unpleasant in the taste. It surely goes without saying that western confectionary is sweet. The fact that confectionary is sweet is a global standard.