Wagashi
/wɑːˈɡɑːʃi/noun
Traditional Japanese confectionery, often made with ingredients such as rice flour, beans, sugar, and agar.
Did you know?The term became especially useful after the Meiji period, when Japanese confectionery needed a name to distinguish it from yogashi, or Western-style confectionery.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Japan
Japanese
wa
“Japan; Japanese identity or style, written with 和 in the modern form”
Classical Japanese
Japanese
kashi
“Confectionery or sweets, written 菓子”
Premodern Japanese
Japanese
菓子
“A general term for food treats and confectionery; the Sino-Japanese reading derives from Chinese characters”
Meiji Period
Japanese
wagashi
“Traditional Japanese confectionery, increasingly contrasted with Western-style sweets”
Modern English
English
wagashi
“A Japanese loanword for traditional Japanese sweets or confectionery”