Milestone:Ten Thousand guests!

It’s hard to believe that June has already arrived. Hydrangeas are beginning to bloom everywhere, and it looks like the rainy season is just around the corner.

This month also brings my birthday, making it a particularly special time for me. Turning 60 is a milestone in itself, but this year is even more unique because it is the Year of the Fire Horse (Hinoe-Uma), which occurs only once every 60 years.

In Japan, there has long been a superstition that women born in a Fire Horse year are strong-willed and may bring misfortune to their husbands. Because of this belief, the birth rate drops significantly during the Fire Horse year. I wonder what the situation will be this time. I would like to think that younger generations no longer place much importance on such superstitions.

As for me, being born in a Fire Horse year has never caused any problems. In fact, the lower birth rate meant less competition for school entrance exams, and my husband seems perfectly happy so far—or at least I hope he is! So I can honestly say that being born in a Fire Horse year has not brought me any bad luck.

This birthday also marks another important milestone. I officially registered my business as a sole proprietor on my 50th birthday, which means this year marks my 10th anniversary in business. In reality, I had already been running classes for two years before that, so it is actually my 12th year teaching.I incorporated the business on my 58th birthday, so this is now the second year since becoming a corporation.

Looking back over these 12 years, I feel incredibly grateful for all the guests who have joined my classes. When I recently checked the numbers, I discovered that we surpassed 10,000 guests in March of this year.

Of course, this achievement was not mine alone. It would not have been possible without the wonderful instructors and assistants who have supported me along the way.

Just as I am happy that so many people from around the world have had the opportunity to learn about wagashi, I am equally grateful that this work has created opportunities for many others as well.
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I do not know how many more years I will be able to continue, but I hope to keep growing, reaching new milestones, and sharing the beauty of wagashi with even more people in the years ahead.

Classes at our Private Studio

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Classes at my home