Five pieces, and together they make jitsugetsu-sankai-ri: sun, moon, mountain, sea, and village. The whole of the natural world, reduced to confectionery.

The white round mochi with red rice flour dusted over half of it is the sun. The white round manju is the moon. The round mochi coated in yellow glutinous rice is the mountain. The diamond-shaped mochi with smooth bean paste inside is the sea. The steamed yokan is the village.

In 1601, Tamahime, daughter of the second Tokugawa shogun Hidetada, was married into the Maeda family and came to Kaga to join Maeda Toshitsune. Kashida Kichizo, confectioner to the domain, presented these as a gift. He took as much care over the container as the contents, delivering them in a five-tiered lacquer box.

From there it spread outward as a wedding sweet, and by the Meiji era ordinary households were giving it as well, not only the domain and the families connected to it. The care taken over the container has stayed part of the thing. A confectioner divided heaven and earth into five separate shapes, and a city has been handing that arrangement out on the day a daughter leaves home ever since, without anyone finding it strange.