Otaru Noh Theatre, Wachanbon (tea bowl)

Wasanbon sugar, a rare sugar that is essential for Japanese sweets and is one of Japan's traditional food cultures, is said to have been transported from Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture) and Awa (Tokushima Prefecture) by Kitamae ships.

Otaru is also home to the former Okazaki Family Noh Stage (Otaru City Noh Theater), the only Noh stage in Hokkaido, built by Ken Okazaki, a wealthy merchant from Sado.
Photo: Masamichi Sasa

The Otaru Noh Theatre Japanese Tea Tray expresses the Noh culture brought to Otaru by the Kitamae ships through "uchimono" (casting objects) made using wooden molds. These sweets are handcrafted by Otaru's Japanese confectioners using auspicious shapes such as boats representing Kitamae ships, female Noh masks, and pine, bamboo, and plum. They come in four flavors: yuzu tea, plum kelp tea, roasted green tea, and matcha. They melt in your mouth softly and have a refined sweetness.
The package is decorated with the "kagamiita" (mirror panel) of an old pine tree painted at the back of the Noh stage. We will bring to mind the history of the Kitamaebune ships and the Noh culture that is deeply rooted in Otaru. Please enjoy Wasanbon, flavored with four types of tea.

The "Old Okazaki Family Noh Stage (Otaru Noh Theater)" was built by Okazaki Ken, a wealthy merchant from Sado, at his home in Otaru. Okazaki spent over ten years of his childhood in Sado, where many people involved in the shipping industry, such as Kitamaebune shipowners and shipbuilders, lived and prospered as a port of call for Kitamaebune ships. During the Edo period, the island also had gold mines under direct control of the shogunate, and officials were dispatched from the central government to the island from time to time. The first Sado magistrate came from a family of Sarugaku (Noh, as it was called until the Edo period) masters, which led to the island becoming a thriving place for Noh. Okazaki, who had been familiar with Noh from a young age on Sado, studied Noh in the Konparu school while attending Tokyo Commercial School (now Hitotsubashi University). After returning home, he became so devoted to Noh that he built a Noh stage in his home. The Noh stage, completed in 1926, was made using specially selected materials such as Jindai cedar from Sado, cypress from Kyushu, and pine from Hokkaido, and the pine paintings on the panel and bamboo on the door opening were commissioned by Kano Mochinobu, the 17th head of the Kano school, ensuring the stage met the highest standards of elegance established during the Edo period. Upon completion, Noh performers were invited from Tokyo to perform on the stage, and the stage was dedicated to spreading Noh culture not only in Otaru but also in Hokkaido. Following his death, in 1954, in accordance with his will, the stage was donated to Otaru City and relocated, where it remains to this day.