{"id":196,"date":"2025-05-06T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=196"},"modified":"2025-05-06T08:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:00:08","slug":"studio-ghibli-serves-up-my-neighbour-totoro-with-a-side-of-traditional-japanese-wagashi-sweets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=196","title":{"rendered":"Studio Ghibli serves up My Neighbour Totoro with a side of traditional Japanese wagashi sweets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Proof that Totoro loves sweets and matcha as much as we do.
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Studio Ghibli loves to champion traditional Japan in its movies and its merchandise lines, highlighting aspects of the culture to remind us of the things that make it so unique.<\/p>\n

One of the tastiest examples of this can be found in the Totoro Wagashi Burarin Series<\/strong>, a collection of charms \u2014 burarin<\/em> loosely translates as \u201cdangly\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 that combine the titular character from My Neighbour Totoro<\/strong> with wagashi, Japanese sweets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25bc There are four to collect, starting with the Sakura Mochi no Omiyage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cOmiyage\u201d is the Japanese word for \u201csouvenir\u201d and is often used to refer to sweet local specialty souvenirs purchased while away on a trip. Judging by the look of the sakura mochi <\/strong>dangling from the chain, Totoro may have returned from a trip to Kansai<\/strong>, the region of Japan in and around Osaka, as its made in the Domyoji style<\/strong>, which wraps a mound of sakura mochi rice in a cherry blossom leaf.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The product has loads of cute details, including a Soot Sprite, which we hope is able to hop out of the way before being eaten.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Next up, we have the Dango de Hitoyasumi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With a name that translates as \u201cTaking a Break with Dango<\/strong>\u201c, this is a particularly sweet design, with a small white Totoro leaning back on three sanshoku dango<\/b> (literally \u201cthree-coloured rice dumplings\u201d), which also go by the name \u201chanami dango<\/strong>\u201d (\u201cflower-viewing dango\u201d), due to the way the colours match the sakura trees, making them popular during cherry blossom season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Traditional sweets pair incredibly well with matcha and Totoro makes the most of breaktime by enjoying a serving of powdered green tea with his dango.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Here\u2019s hoping the white mochi-resembling Totoro doesn\u2019t get gobbled up by accident.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc The next item in the range is cutely named Taiyaki Tsuri<\/strong> (\u201cTaiyaki Fishing<\/strong>\u201c).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This red snapper-shaped cake is filled with sweet red bean paste, and Totoro appears to be fishing for it, in a bowl that looks like a boat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc This sweet contains another Soot Sprite that\u2019s in danger of being eaten.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc\u00a0Finally, we have the Shinsen Ichigo no Daifuku Mochi (\u201cFresh Strawberry Daifuku Mochi\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Totoro looks incredibly excited by the fresh strawberry, which appears in his hand as well as the soft rice cake that dangles beside him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ichigo daifuku are known for containing whole strawberries, and this one includes a mound of red bean paste, alongside\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc \u2026a tiny Soot Sprite!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is a collection that\u2019s as cute as it is mouthwatering, and with each item in the range priced at 1,650 yen (US$11.46), we can easily take them all home for 6,600 yen. They\u2019ll look right at home with these igusa rush cushions<\/a> and Totoro noren curtains<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku<\/a><\/em>
\nTop image: Donguri Kyowakoku<\/a><\/em>
\nInsert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>)<\/em>
\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Proof that Totoro loves sweets and matcha as much as we do. Studio Ghibli loves to champion traditional Japan in its movies and its merchandise lines, highlighting aspects of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}