The old city of Kyoto – words like “traditional” or “classy” might lazily come to mind? But it has so much more charm than those words, like something out of a cheaply done guidebook, can describe. I’d like to show you another side of Kyoto.

In Kyoto, confectionary is known as Kyo-gashi.

While carrying the weight of history that stretches for centuries, the new generations of Kyo-gashi houses gracefully destroy tradition that’s been handed down. This radical “history of new ideas” is far more exciting to me than any mere hot trend.

In this series, I’d like to introduce you to Kyo-gashi that matches to a movie I’ve selected, filtered through my biased and (sometimes) excessive imagination.

This time, I’ve selected The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It’s a movie that everybody has heard of, a monumental musical melodrama with a beautiful, bittersweet love story. However, my impression of it is different. It’s a fantasy about the super pretty Geneviève (played by Catherine Deneuve) in lovely dresses, living in a world with excellent wallpaper. She experiences young love as a stepping stone on a path towards a “woman’s happiness” that her parents would approve of. But in the end, the life of the boy she left seems happier than hers. Is this a little bit too mean?

I was a teenager when I watched it for the first time. It was a shock from the very opening scene. Colorful umbrellas come and go, choreographed to Michel Legrand’s famous theme song, creating a spectacle on stone pavement. Oh my god, why is this so damn cute? This cuteness struck me so hard I’ll never forget it, even if I might forget how the story ends. I believe this impression comes from the beautiful presence of the the umbrella itself. In Japan, there is a saying that describes the situation of when a woman looks most beautiful: “In distance/in the dark/standing under an umbrella.” The first scene of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is brilliantly designed with the beauty of umbrellas in mind.

Like when I first watched this movie, this Kyo-gashi recognizes the inherent charm of umbrellas. I instantly fell in love. It’s called “Shigure-gasa.” The name is rather old school, but when you open the box, don’t you hear the Michel Legrand theme start to play? It would be perfect if just after Geneviève’s jeweler fiancé returns from a world-wide business trip, he approaches her and whispers in her ear, “Look Genevieve, I’ve brought a cake shaped like an umbrella from Japan, just for you.” Can you imagine this? (I can!) When the cake is cut along the line and a wooden stick is inserted on its side, it transforms into the shape of a closed umbrella. It’s a sweet with drama! And it tastes really good too! The thin pancake is soft and chewy, filled with freshly made sweet bean paste. If you like smooth sweet bean paste, you’ll love this. Perfect to cut into eight little umbrellas for eight people. Would you like to have a tea party with this Kyo-gashi over the weekend?