Higashi

Higashi are traditional, pressed, dry Japanese sweets usually consisting of sugar and rice flour and often containing 10% or less moisture, meaning they have a very long shelf life. They belong to the group of wagashi - traditional, small Japanese sugary treats. If higashi is made with wasabon (Japanese premium sugar), it is regarded as the finest variety of higashi. The sweets are characterized by their shape, due to them being pressed into wooden molds, so the sweets take the shape of the mold, mostly flowers and other decorative, natural objects. Higashi is often served alongside tea, and the recipes for the sweets are typically heavily guarded secrets of the confectionery shops that produce them.