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October 9 – 寒露 Kanro

Welcome to the series of posts made in collaboration with Kintoki sweets and ITSUMO Life exploring Japanese culture and seasonal observations.

Today we have entered the 17th microseason of 寒露 Kanro, the season of ”cold dew” where the mornings and evening become chilly and we start to crave warm cosy fall food. In Japan, autum is referred to 食欲の秋 Shoku-yoku-no-aki = “Appetite Autumn”. The almost-full moon that appears in the evening around this time is referred to as the “chestnut moon”, and themes on harvest and thanksgiving are celebrated.

For celebrating our favourite autumn harvest, we picked up some fall eggplants (秋茄子 Aki-nasu). Fall eggplants are esteemed and thought to be especially delicious as the cooler weather produces thinner, tender skins and their slower growth develops more flavour than their summer counterparts.

Featured today is the traditional Japanese autumn dish, 茄子田楽 Nasu Dengaku. Sen used her homemade miso, that she started in the spring, to make a sweet miso glaze to dress the grilled eggplants. The dark Okinawa sugar used in the glaze gives it a caramel-y smoky sweetness to compliment the salty miso. The finishing touch is added with kinome herbs, enhancing the whole flavour.

The tableware featured also here is a ReIRABO plate in spring mint green by Yumiko Iihoshi Porcelain. We love the ReIRABO glaze that expresses undulating texture and the subtle variation in the tones. The dark miso glaze contrasted on the soft pastel colour appears more beautiful and apetiting. We hope you enjoy using these large dinner plates for the special dinner gatherings to celebrate the fall harvest and give thanks to the land and to the people that grow our food.

We are grateful for the bountiful harvest that the weather has brought to us. Hope everyone spends a lovely thanksgiving weekend!

Until our next exploration,
ITSUMO & Kintoki Sweets

Styled With

Five small Azmaya porcelain dishes in sekkai glaze shaped in traditional Japanese motifs like peach, fan, sunflower, quince, and bottle gourdThree small Azmaya porcelain dishes holding beans, salt and dried flowers
Bean Dish – Sekkai Sale price$24.00
ReIRABO Round Plate – Spring Mint GreenReIRABO Round Plate – Spring Mint Green
ReIRABO Dinner Plate – Spring Mint GreenReIRABO Dinner Plate – Spring Mint Green

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September 23 – 秋分 Shuubun

September 23 – 秋分 Shuubun

In Japan, the equinox is a day of reflection when families gather and pay respect to their loved ones, spend time together and connect over food.

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October 23 – 霜降 Soukou

October 23 – 霜降 Soukou

We decided to use late harvest Portuguese peppers, walnuts, and Sen’s homemade miso to make these brown rice miso onigiri to celebrate the concept of 名残 nagori.

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