Green Tea & Cinnamon Wafers

They come in a little metal box, of the kind in which you might expect to find cigars. It's green, and an iconic geisha beckons from the cover. Some history is displayed. This is the traditional confection of distant and romantic Kyoto – the yatsuhashi, cinnamon wafers which are crisp but do not flake, which are sweet but evanescent in the aftertaste.

Mine come in little plastic packets, each containing two brown wafers, curved like cinnamon bark, thicker than my thumbnail, and firm to the touch. They are hard enough to crunch, and will stay that way for quite a long time. Mine are half-coated in green matcha chocolate, which lends them additional flavour. It is a subtle combination, and very satisfying to the mind and body.

There is harmony. With great joy comes sadness.

cinnamon and tea
two hands and a subtle scent
but only three left

I am having dinner at a Japanese restaurant with my parents tonight, to celebrate Mother's Day.