noun
traditional Japanese confectionery; wagashi
Refers to traditional Japanese sweets, often made from ingredients like rice flour, sweet bean paste, and agar. Contrasts with Western-style sweets (洋菓子).
京都で美しい和菓子を買った。
I bought beautiful traditional Japanese sweets in Kyoto.
和菓子は洋菓子より甘さが控えめなものが多
Many wagashi are less sweet than Western-style sweets.
General term for sweets, snacks, or confectionery; 和菓子 is a specific subset.
Compound of 和 (wa, 'Japanese') + 菓子 (kashi, 'sweets, confectionery'). The term became common in the Meiji period to distinguish traditional Japanese sweets from newly introduced Western-style confectionery.