Wagashi, seasonal cakes and candies unique to Japan.
From left: For spring, sakura mochi, rice cakes wrapped in cherry leaves. For summer, mizu yokan, a soft adzuki bean jelly arranged in a bamboo container. For autumn, nama-gashi (unbaked sweets), one shaped like a ripe persimmon, the other like a gingko leaf. And for winter, higashi, a dry candy that reminds us of snow. Traditional sweets are often made using rice or wheat flour, arrowroot starch and sweetened adzuki beans. Traditional cakes and candies are a feast for the eyes, too, with their beautiful colors and shapes reminding us of the natural world and its seasons. In this issue of NIPPONIA, you will see a different kind of wagashi on the page dedicated to each month. (Photos by Kono Toshihiko)

This weeping cherry, famous in Japan, belongs to one of the three most admired species of cherry trees. It is located in Miharu-cho, Fukushima Prefecture, and even has a name — Miharu no Taki-zakura. The blossoms create a scene like a waterfall. (The word for "waterfall" in Japanese is taki.) (Photo credit: JTB Photo)