Kumanoya

A long-established Japanese confectionery shop with 120 years of history.
Its specialty, dorayaki, is made by carefully grilling each pancake one at a time and filling it with red bean paste (anko) and cream, and it is very popular.
The dango, made with Koshihikari rice grown in Aizu, is also popular. Many other kinds of Japanese sweets are available as well. Enjoy them on the spot, or take some home as a gift or souvenir.

Confectionery Molds, and Hidari Jingoro and Hidari Ichizan
Kumanoya was founded in Meiji 20 (1887) by its first generation, Saito Heizaburo.
Saito Heizaburo was the grandson of Hidari Ichizan^※2, who was a great-grandson of the legendary carver Hidari Jingoro^※1.
When Hidari Ichizan learned that his grandson had started a confectionery business, he carved confectionery molds that remain today.
It was with these molds that Kumanoya first produced rakugan (sugar confections) and namagashi (fresh confections).

^※1Hidari Jingoro
A legendary carver of the Edo period. His best-known work is the Sleeping Cat at Nikko Toshogu. However, the works attributed to him span about 300 years, from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the late Edo period, so there is also a theory that the name Hidari Jingoro was used as a title for master craftsmen across various regions.

^※2Hidari Ichizan
Born in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, in Bunka 1 (1804); died in Ansei 4 (1857). After studying calligraphy under Shoda Tansai, a calligrapher and Aizu domain samurai, he went to Edo to train in carving. After several years of training, he returned to Aizu and was taken into service by the Aizu Domain. His netsuke, for which he was especially known, remain popular today. His carvings of turtles are magnificent.