[Choose Your Own] 6-Box Set

The perfect companion for a blissful adult moment

Enjoy it not only with Japanese or black tea, but also paired with your favorite specialty coffee during a break from work or chores, or even with spirits like wine, brandy, or whiskey during a special evening. It is also recommended as a topping for yogurt or ice cream. Its simple flavor allows you to discover your own unique way to enjoy it.

Furthermore, this is a treat that can be shared and enjoyed with everyone, including those with dietary restrictions, such as vegetarians or those with major allergies.

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SHUKA is a simple, sophisticated confection made only from seeds and sugar. The packaging, which embodies this world view, avoids excessive decoration and is composed solely of the logo and colors representing each seed. Since "sugaring" is an ancient food preservation technique, the fact that it can be stored at room temperature without any modern preservatives is another reason why it is recommended as a gift or souvenir.

Seeds and sugar only

SHUKA is made using an ancient food preservation technique known as "sugar-candying." The only ingredients used are seeds and sugar. We use no modern preservatives, nor do we use any artificial coloring or bleaching agents.

Retain a pleasant texture of the seeds themselves.

First, the ingredients are simmered to hydrate them. While it is common practice in traditional Japanese confectionery to simmer ingredients as softly as possible to ensure they melt in the mouth, at SHUKA, we use a unique, carefully researched process that retains not only the original shape and color of the seeds but also a pleasant texture, resulting in an "al dente" chewiness.

Slowly soaked for three days

Next, we make a syrup and soak the ingredients in it. Due to a physical phenomenon called osmosis, the moisture inside the ingredients is replaced by the sugar in the syrup, causing the sugar to gradually seep in. This process stops once the sugar concentration inside the ingredients balances out with the sugar concentration of the syrup outside.

By applying this principle, we repeat the process of increasing the sugar content of the syrup and soaking the ingredients, allowing the sugar to penetrate to the very center. This process takes about three days.

Wasanbon, a sugar unique to Japan

Finally, to improve ease of eating and shelf life, the pieces are left overnight to dry the surface. At this stage, we use Wasanbon, a sugar unique to Japan. This is a product dating back to the Edo period, made from "Chikutou," a domestic variety of sugarcane.

By sprinkling it lightly, we encourage the surface to dry while infusing the pieces with the gentle flavor of the sugar. Our artisans make subtle adjustments to the amount sprinkled based on the day's temperature and humidity, ensuring the perfect balance.

In this way, it takes about four days from preparation to complete a single piece of SHUKA.

SHUKA uses only seeds and sugar. Therefore, we carefully select each individual ingredient, using only those of value to be passed down to future generations. Specifically, we judge them based on the following three criteria.

1. We know the faces of the producers
2. There is respect for nature
3. A passion for quality

From "Anything but an amanatto shop"
to "It has to be me"

I was born the eldest son of "Torokuya," a Kyoto-based family business specializing in "amanatto" (candied beans). The shop was founded in 1926 by my great-grandmother, Sueno Kondo.

However, I grew up determined never to become an amanatto maker. When I was in junior high school, I was teased for my family's business, with classmates calling sweetened beans "disgusting." Being at a sensitive age, I began to feel ashamed of the shop and kept my family's trade a secret from then on.

The value of amanatto. A newfound sense of mission.

After graduating, I worked for two years at a long-established major confectionery shop, where I gained experience with many different Japanese and Western sweets before joining the family business at age 26. My first impression of amanatto was, "How old-fashioned." Compared to Western confectionery in particular, it lacked flair, was coated in excessive sugar, and the packaging was just a generic bag like anything else you’d find.

Bringing Amanatto to the world

To ensure this continues as a culture, we need to change this image and, in particular, pass it on to younger generations. Thinking about how to achieve this, I vaguely thought, "If it gets recognized overseas, it might make an impact." And so, I decided to exhibit at the biennial Slow Food world event held in Italy. Slow Food is a grassroots movement originating in Italy that aims to preserve and pass on local, rich food cultures. With local food gathering from all over the world, amanatto was a perfect fit.

Build a brand with global reach.

So, I consulted with Masashichi Nakagawa, chairman of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, who is renowned for his work in business revitalization and branding for traditional crafts. He listened to everything—the history of our amanatto, its current situation, and my own vision.

Through a series of consulting meetings, the vague ideas I had been holding onto were distilled into a clear concept: "Lending a hand to nature's bounty." Furthermore, inspired by Chairman Nakagawa’s remark that "if you break down amanatto, it's essentially beans and sugar—fundamentally 'seed' and 'sugar,'" we arrived at the brand name "SHUKA," which succinctly expresses that essence.