wagashi, which means “Japanese confectionery,” signifies a broad category of sweets that includes mochi and dumplings (dango) made in Japan from the prehistoric era; Chinese imports such as stuffed buns (manjū) and yōkan, initially introduced as vegetarian foods in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) but transformed into confectionery in the early modern period (1600–1868); and “southern barbarian sweets,” sixteenth-century adaptations of Portuguese recipes. See azuki beans; dango; manjū; mochi; and nanbangashi. The term wagashi was coined at the end of the 1800s to contrast Japanese confectionery with “Western sweets” (yōgashi)—cakes and other baked goods that had entered the Japanese diet through later European and American introductions. See japanese baked goods. However, wagashi did not become the standard term for Japanese confectionery until after World War II.
