Monaka

Just thin, crisp wafer shells made from glutinous rice, sandwiching bean paste — nothing more. Selling the shell and paste separately, to be assembled just before eating, is common, said to be a way of keeping the shell's crispness intact. Many variants add gyuhi, chestnut, or seasonal fruit to the paste, and shells molded into the shapes of animals or flowers are also said to have spread as a playful design element. Fine textured patterns pressed into the shell's surface are said to help the paste adhere and add variation to the bite.

Glutinous rice is steamed, rolled thin, pressed into a mold, and baked quickly at high heat into a wafer shell. Two shells are joined around chunky or smooth bean paste, sometimes with gyuhi added. The shells are often stamped with a shop's crest or a seasonal design. Judging the baking temperature and time alone changes the shell's thickness and toastiness, and comparing shells alone between shops is said to be its own way of enjoying monaka. Pairing red and white shells for celebratory occasions is also a known design.

One account traces the name to a phrase, "mochizuki no monaka" — the midst of the full moon — found in the Heian-era poetry anthology Shui Wakashu, with the round, pale sweet likened to the moon itself. Selling the shell separately from the paste is said to be a measure against humidity softening the wafer, keeping its crisp bite intact until it reaches the customer. Selling the shell and paste separately is a device still seen today at department store wagashi counters.