Monaka is one of Japan’s classic confections: a filling sandwiched between two thin, crisp wafer shells. The shells themselves are the craft. They are not batter — they are mochi: pounded glutinous rice, pressed into a mold and toasted until crisp, with no sugar and no oil.
These motif shells come from a monaka-shell maker in Kanazawa that has worked mochi rice since 1877. Using a single contracted rice — Shin Taisho Mochi from the Hokuriku coast — the company buys the grain as brown rice, cold-stores it, then mills and grinds it fresh for each production run. It is the same rice and the same maker behind our Round and Square Monaka lines.
This page collects the seasonal and figurative formats — clam, scallop, chestnut, sakura, and more. Each motif comes from its own carved mold, so the shape reads on the plate. The dimensions for each are shown in the product images.
Ayako, Umami Curator at The House of Umami, toured the workshop and watched the shells take shape. What stayed with her was learning that the shell is built on a mochi base — rice, pounded and pressed, not poured. She also watched the company’s in-house mold-makers at work, preserving a specialized craft that few producers still maintain. The speed and precision of the experienced artisans left a lasting impression.
A motif shell does a second job on the plate: the shape itself signals the dish — sakura in spring, chestnut in autumn, Tai (sea bream) for celebration. The crisp shell holds against fillings that are creamy, savory, or frozen.
