Japan's oldest sweet, the over 1,000 year old kangidan / seijō-kankidan 歓喜団 has a surprising but mostly forgotten history.
The seijō-kankidan 歓喜団 is shaped like a money bag. The shell is made with a blend of rice and wheat flour mix.
The filling is made mainly with adzuki / red bean paste and is flavoured with seven types of aromatic incense such as sandalwood, cinnamon, etc.
The sweet is fried in sesame seed oil till crisp golden brown outside.
Known as "edible incense", some people described the feeling from tasting the blend of flavour and aroma from the sesame seed oil and incense as like being in a temple.
Seijo Kankidan 清浄歓喜団 means "cleansing and joy" in Japanese. Eating the kangidan / seijō-kankidan is supposed to be cleansing for the body (and for the spirit too).
According to the Tang dynasty book 太平广记·尚食令，there was a snack known as “焦子” which were balls made of wheat and were deep fried in sesame oil.
Today, only Kameya Kiyonaga (confectioner founded in 1617) in Kyoto still makes this sweet. One piece of Seijō-kankidan costs ¥648 (SGD 6) at Kameya Kiyonaga today (Oct 2023).
The Indian fried modak has a crisp chewy shell made of wheat. Inside, the modak is filled mainly with grated coconut pulp and jaggery. There may also be a bit of optional crushed almond, pistachio, cardamon powder, saffron, etc., for additional flavour and aroma.
How did Japan end up with a sweet that is derived from an Indian sweet? The answer lies in how Buddhism came to Japan from China but we have to start with Hinduism in India.
Ganesha is the Hindu elephant-headed deity who loves sweets. In many Ganesha statues, he holds a bowl of sweets in this third hand and is shown enjoying them. Ganesha's favourite sweet is the modak and the kangidan is the Japanese version of Ganesha's most loved sweet.
The kangidan goes back to the Nara period (710 AD - 784 AD) of Japan - that's more than 1,300 years ago.
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| Tang era statue of a "foreign man". During the Tang dynasty, foreign trade and exchanges flourished |
At that time, China was ruled by the Tang dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD). The Tang era were golden years in China's history. Even today, some Chinese refer to themselves as 唐人 or literally Tang people. Chinatowns around the world are still called 唐人街 or Streets of Tang People.
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| Tang era Buddhist sculpture |
Buddhism arrived in China during the Han dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). Buddhism was promoted by emperors especially during the Tang dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD). Through its history, Buddhism included and adapted certain Hindu deities such as Lord Ganesha (or qualities of Hindu deities) into their tradition.
Lord Ganesha was worshipped as Huanxi Tian 歡喜天 in Chinese Buddhism. 歡喜天 is portrayed as an embracing elephant-human couple 雙身歡喜天.
During the Nara period, Japan brought back many ideas from the Tang dynasty. These included Buddhism and it was also during this time that Kangiten (deity) and kangidan (sweet) arrived in Japan i.e. 710 AD - 784 AD.
One of the Buddhist deities brought over from Tang dynasty China to Japan was Kangiten (or Vinayaka). Some are in dual body form like in this 14th century painting.
There are also single body Kangiten forms.
Seventh century depiction of the child Kangiten (deity) with a kangidan (sweet) in his hand. The child Kangiten does not have an elephant's head.
According to Hindu scripture (there are slightly differing versions), Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati (Lord Shiva's wife) while her husband was away. When Lord Shiva returned, not knowing that Ganesha is his son, he cut off the young man's head when the latter blocked his way into his own house. When Goddess Parvati saw what happened, she demanded Lord Shiva bring Ganesha back to life. Lord Shiva placed an elephant's head on Ganesha and brought him back to life.
Hence, the young Ganesha (and thus the child Kangiten) has a human head.
Seijō-kankidan (kangidan) at Matsuchiyama Honryū-in (Matsuchiyama Shōden) temple in Taitō-ku, Tokyo.
Next time you are Kyoto, taste a kangidan and partake in Japan's oldest, 1,000 year history sweet. It has the taste of incense, so it takes a bit of getting use to. But, however you may feel about the taste, the kangidan is rich in history that stretched through a long time (1,000 years) and vast distances (from India to China to Japan). Definitely worth a try.
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