The Urasenke Tankokai Los Angeles Association (UTLAA) held Wasanbon workshop on April 15 2023 at Nichiren Shu Beikoku Betsuin in Los Angeles and invited Ms. Ayumi Uehara from Kagawa, Japan as an instructor. There were two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon and each session was one and a half hours, with a total of 32 participants. It was her 2nd workshop after 11 years since the first one in 2012.

 The hand carved wooden molds made by Ms. Uehara’s father, Mr. Yoshihito Ichihara, a traditional craftsman of Kagawa prefecture, were displayed. After a demonstration of how to use the wooden molds, it started with the process of coloring wasanbon sugar made in Kagawa and sifting it. Afterwards, participants filled wooden molds of their choice with wasanbon sugar, and when the lovely wasanbon dropped from the wooden molds for the first time, everyone was impressed and full of smiles.

Everyone enjoyed their own freshly made wasanbon with a bowl of tea. At the end, each participant took home a small box of their efforts and even traded their wasanbon with each other.

Workshop ended successfully and many asked for Ms. Uehara’s return.