Seki no To (関の戸)

Seki no To (関の戸) is a bite-sized Japanese sweet from Seki-juku, an old post town in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture. One small shop wraps smooth red bean paste in gyuhi, a soft rice dough, then dusts the whole thing in wasanbon sugar. That pale coating is really the point. Locals say it stands for snow settling on the Suzuka mountains, which rise behind the town. This wagashi has been made along the old Tokaido highway since the Edo period. So it is a sweet with an address, and the address still matters. TOCWhat Is Seki no To? Basically, Seki no To is a mochi-type confection roughly the size of a large marble. Inside sits koshi-an, namely a strained paste of red azuki beans. Around that goes gyuhi, then over everything comes a heavy dusting of fine white sugar. Kameyama City, which certifies the sweet under its local brand scheme, describes it in exactly those terms too. Japanese name 関の戸, usually romanized as Seki no To, Sekinoto or Seki-no-To Where Seki-juku, specifically in Kameyama City, northern Mie Prefecture Category Wagashi, namely traditional Japanese confectionery Core parts Koshi-an, gyuhi and, above all, Awa wasanbon sugar Maker Fukagawaya Mutsudaijo, which produces only this ...