Higashi (dry sweets; dry confectionary) (干菓子)
Higashi (干菓子) or Higashi (乾菓子) is a generic term that refers to dry Japanese sweets. The opposite of nama-gashi (uncooked cakes made from glutinous rice, agar and an).
According to definitions, rakugan (hard candy), umpei (Japanese confectionery), aruheito (toffee), rice cracker, yatsuhashi (sweet rice cracker) are included (main dry sweets are listed below). In general, rice cracker or yatsuhashi are rarely imagined from the term of Higashi (dry sweets). It may refer to Japanese sweets including rakugan, wasanbon (refined sugar made from sugarcane in Japan) that are made and molded from powdery ingredients (sugar, flour, etc.).
It refers to a sweet with a moisture content of 20 % or less. Sweets with 30-35% moisture content such as monaka (a wafer cake filled with bean jam), suhama, ishigoromo (wafer cake) are differentiated and categorized as `hannama gashi' (soft, sami-baked Japanese sweets).
It has been developed and used for offerings, Chanoyu (the tea ceremony), wakes and weddings, and various skills, including uchimono-gashi, unpei-zaiku and aruhei-zaiku, are applied during its development process. It has been loved as a sweet kept in a pocket and eaten when one cares for something to eat.
Type of dry sweets
Rakugan (hard candy)
Umpei
Aruheito (toffee)
Kompeito (confetti)
Kinkato (traditional sugar confectionary)
Shogato (shoga candy)
Wasanbon (refined sugar made from sugarcane in Japan)
Rice cracker
Yatsuhashi (sweet rice cracker)
Okoshi (millet or rice cake)
Ama natto (sugared red beans)
Goshikimame (five-colored sweets)
Hannama gashi (soft, sami-baked Japanese sweets)
Monaka (a wafer cake filled with bean jam)
Suhama
Ishigoromo (wafer cake)