Confections, globalization, and culture

     These cute, colourful little star-like candies are called 'konpeito'. Konpeito is one of the standards among Japanese sweets. Oddly enough, konpeito did not originate in Japan. It was first made in Portugal and brought to Japan around the 15th century. The name 'konpeito' is derived from the Portuguese word 'confeito', meaning confection or sugar candy. Konpeito is an excellent example of how much of Japan's culture is taken from outside it's borders. It is common to find things within the Japanese culture that were 'borrowed' from elsewhere and integrated into the Japanese culture, enriching it into a multi-layered complex structure.. Another example would be the common style of school uniforms, which was based on ones from Germany in past centuries. Konpeito is featured in the Japanese movie Spirited Away. Due to the film's popularity it has been translated into many languages and has been made available in a multitude of countries. The widespread exposure of this film introduced konpeito to other countries that were previously unaware of it, though it enforces the misconception that the candy has originated in Japan.

     This is dango. It is a Japanese dumpling-type sweet made from rice flower. More specifically, this is hanami dango which is dango made especially for the cherry blossom season. There are many other types of dango in addition to this one, but hanami dango caught my attention because of it's colours. As with the konpeito, one of the first things you notice is how colourful it is. In Japan it seems as though many foods,snacks, and candies are made in many different colours. In the U.S., snacks such as these would be seen as best marketed to children, mainly because of the colours. It seems as if anything brightly coloured or multi-coloured has an association of immaturity or juvenile with it. But this is not so in Japan. Colourful and cute products are seen everywhere and are marketed to and enjoyed by people of all ages. Japan has been said to have an obsession with all things cute (i.e. Hello Kitty). I have not been able to think of a reason as to why this is, but I like it. I think it is a wonderful change from what I am used to seeing. Exposure to these cute and colourful products has led me to think about the reason why colours are associated with kids in the West. I haven't been able to think of a reason for that either. It may simply be an inexplicable cultural difference.