Namagashi

Namagashi (生菓子), literally “fresh sweets,” is the wettest of wagashi’s three moisture-based tiers, generally defined as containing over 30% moisture. It’s also the most visually elaborate tier: hand-shaped seasonal sweets like nerikiri, along with daifuku and dango, fall into this category. That high moisture content is exactly what makes namagashi both delicate to look at and short-lived to eat; most namagashi is meant to be consumed the same day it’s made, or the next day at the latest, and it generally cannot survive shipping, especially internationally.