Dagashi (Japanese: 駄菓子) refers to cheap candies and snack foods. Dagashi are comparable to American penny candy.
The word dagashi is derived from the Japanese words da ("futile" or "negligible") and kashi (snacks). The low price and fun packaging is designed to attract children with small allowances, and dagashi came to be known as the small candies that children can afford with pocket money.
Most dagashi are packaged in bright, childish wrapping and sometimes come with a small toy or prize. The toys are often small figurines, and a common prize is a randomized prize that will allow the holder to claim a second free snack.
Dagashi used to be sold in stores specializing primarily in dagashi called dagashiya (Japanese: 駄菓子屋), but are now increasingly sold in convenience stores as well.
While modern dagashi developed after World War II, dagashi has been around since the Edo period (1603-1868). Dagashi, made from starch or corn, was the commoner equivalent of the more expensive jōgashi, which was higher quality and made from white sugar.
Modern dagashi experienced its greatest popularity in the post-war Shōwa period (from the 1950s to the early 1980s) when dagashiya (stores that specialized in dagashi) were common and a staple after-school hangout spot for younger students.
During the Bubble Economy period (1986–1991), the amount of spending money schoolchildren had access to rapidly increased. Many dagashiya began to diversify their products or were replaced by convenience stores.
As of 2018, dagashi can still be found in the occasional dagashiya, in convenience stores, or ordered online. Culture expos in Japan (especially for schools) sometimes include dagashi and dagashiya displays. Dagashi have also become more widely available outside Japan.
The key considerations for companies producing dagashi are:
Dagashi include hard candy, gum, chocolates, cakes, and certain types of pastries, like donuts. Dagashi also includes snacks such as juice powders and flavorings, potato and corn snacks, small cups of ramen, rice crackers, flavored squid, and preserved fruit.
Dagashiya are the traditional stores that sell dagashi. Besides dagashi, dagashiya often sell small toys and may have coin-operated arcade-style games or gashapon.
During the post-war Showa period, children often stopped by a dagashiya after school to purchase the cheap snacks and socialize with each other and the shop owners.
Though in decline due to convenience stores, dagashiya can still be found in Japan, with around 50 in the Tokyo area.[1] Today, dagashiya are regarded as nostalgic and are frequently found in resort or vacation towns.
The oldest continuously operating dagashiya in Tokyo is Kami-kawaguchiya, which was established in 1781.[2] It is located on the grounds of Kishibojin Shrine and served as the model for the dagashiya in the Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday.
With the proliferation of convenience stores and the falling Japanese birthrate, traditional dagashiyas have been declining rapidly. However, dagashi and dagashiyas have attained more attention in Japanese pop culture with the release of the anime Dagashi Kashi. The anime covers some of the most popular dagashi, as well as more obscure kinds.
Some savory dagashi are also suitable as sakana, drinking snacks and adults consume them out of nostalgia. Examples such as Umaibo and cheese arare are featured in the ninth episode of the drinking anime, Takunomi.