Nihonbashi Nagato is an Edo-style confectionary located on Sakura-dori Street, a spot in Nihonbashi famous for its tunnel of blooming cherry blossoms in springtime. In operation since the days of the 8th Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshimune (1684–1751), this sweets shop has a history dating back almost 300 years and is one of Tokyo’s longest-established confectioners. Later the store was appointed a supplier to the Shogun’s family, and successive proprietors were granted the title of Matsuoka Nagato Daijo Fujiwara Shinkichi as well as the privilege of wearing a sword as the Chief Confectioner to the Tokugawa Shogun’s family down the generations.
Originally located in Kandasuda-cho, the store was moved to its present site in Nihonbashi after its building burned down from wartime bombing. Nagato’s Matsukaze sweets have been famous since the Edo period, and the recipe passed down from father to son over generations to the present day as confectionaries that were supplied to the Tokugawa Shogun’s family. With their mellow miso flavor, these tile-shaped rice crackers have a staunch fan base; however, because they are produced in small batches, customers must order these treasures in advance, waiting two to three months for delivery. The store also sells Aoi Monaka, rice wafers with bean paste filling that are imprinted with two hollyhock leaves, a design that only merchants granted the Tokugawa family’s warrant were permitted to use. Containing sesame seeds, the aromatic wafer case is filled with red bean paste with just the right sweetness.
A product that has enjoyed popularity for several decades is the store’s Kuzumochi (arrowroot cake) with a generous powdering of kinako (roasted soybean flour). Unlike Tokyo’s traditional Kuzumochi, which is made by fermenting wheat starch, Nagato’s Kuzumochi could be described as Kansai-style Warabimochi, which is made from bracken-root starch, in the same triangular shape as Kanto-style Kuzumochi, hence the name. The triangles quiver like jelly when you lift them with a toothpick, then melt in your mouth with a delightfully mild sweetness. This Kuzumochi was introduced by the store’s previous proprietor in the early Showa Era (1926–1989) and continues to be made with meticulous care today.
Also highly recommended are Nagato’s seasonal Jo-Namagashi (high-quality unbaked confections), which change around every two weeks. In addition to designs passed down from former proprietors, the store also creates new sweets with motifs selected from classical literature, historical novels, and seasonal flowers. There is a workshop on the second floor of the dapper Edo-style store where almost all of the products sold here are painstakingly handmade one-by-one.
Nihonbashi NAGATO
Address: 3-1-3 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
TEL: +81 (0)3-3271-8662
Business hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Regular holidays: Sundays/public holidays
Website: http://nagato.ne.jp/
Text: Yuko Kanamaru, Photograph: Shigeki Watanabe
Reprinted from Tokyo-jin July 2016 extra edition