Last year, the artist MUSASHI widened his reach nationwide, holding a solo exhibition at the Osaka-Kansai Expo and a nationwide touring exhibition in collaboration with Bikkuriman. Moved by his original art and worldview, people have connected one to another, and now a new movement is taking shape in Okayama.
One part of it is a collaboration with Yamawaki Sangetsudo, a long-established maker of Okayama confections. As a product that brings a new side of Okayama to the rest of the country, kibi dango, a well-known Okayama confection, is now being packaged with MUSASHI's artwork. Test sales are starting ahead of full-scale sales in winter 2026.
A New Look for a Familiar Okayama Confection
The package, which uses MUSASHI's art, has a grown-up feel that departs from the image of conventional kibi dango products.
Choco Kibi Dango
- Contents: 12 pieces
- Price: ¥780 (tax included)
It is a double-chocolate kibi dango, with chocolate wrapped in a dango dough kneaded with chocolate.
How to Buy
Those who want to buy it now can contact O-en gift Co., Ltd. through its Instagram. Retail and wholesale sales are planned for the future, and the same account will announce the official release once it is decided.
Yamawaki Sangetsudo, a Long-Established Maker That Keeps Taking On New Challenges
Yamawaki Sangetsudo was founded in 1881 (Meiji 14). For more than 140 years, it has supported Okayama's confectionery culture, led by kibi dango, one of the prefecture's best-known confections. While valuing its long history and tradition, the company does not stop at preserving them. It keeps taking on new possibilities, developing new products that respond to the needs of the times and the region, and running a food service business that proposes new food culture.
The restaurant 豆と餅, which the company produces, is one example. It offers a new way to enjoy food by combining tofu dishes with Japanese sweets, runs two locations in Okayama City, and is planning to open in Tokyo as well, widening its field from Okayama to the whole country.
The head office factory and direct sales shop of Yamawaki Sangetsudo is in Kuwano, Naka Ward, Okayama City.
Comment From the President of Yamawaki Sangetsudo
The photo below shows the president, 安部 真良 (left), with MUSASHI (right).
When I learned of MUSASHI and first saw his work, I was immediately drawn to his use of color and his richly individual art. Each piece has a worldview unique to him, and the thought that "if this art were combined with the kibi dango we have been making for so many years, it could become a product unlike anything before" was what led to this packaging collaboration.
Since its founding in 1881 (Meiji 14), Yamawaki Sangetsudo has valued bringing joy to many people through kibi dango, and has taken on new challenges rather than only preserving tradition. When we received this proposal, beyond the appeal of MUSASHI's art itself, it also overlapped with my own experience and feelings from working in youth rehabilitation welfare and supporting children, and I wanted to work on it together.
I hope that with MUSASHI's art on the kibi dango package, people who pick it up will find themselves smiling, or want to give it to someone, so that small moments of happiness spread. I am looking forward to seeing how many people this kibi dango will reach from here.
安部 真良, Representative Director and President, Yamawaki Sangetsudo Co., Ltd.
The O-en gift Project That Connected MUSASHI and Yamawaki Sangetsudo
The O-en gift project began with activities connected to children's cafeterias (kodomo shokudo) in Okayama. While continuing with the aim of giving local children not only meals but also experiences different from the everyday, enjoyable time, and memorable moments, the project began to hear from local companies, shops, and individuals who wanted to provide products to the children's cafeterias, said they could help in their own ways, or wanted to take part together. By connecting the products and services companies have, along with places in the community and people's knowledge and skills, the circle of activity widened and produced collaborations in various forms.
What the O-en gift project values is delivering someone's wish to support others (O-en) as concrete value, in the form of a gift. This idea, which started with children's cafeteria activities, has gradually spread through ties with companies and communities, and this MUSASHI × Yamawaki Sangetsudo collaboration kibi dango is an extension of it.
While protecting what has been passed down in Okayama for more than 140 years, Yamawaki Sangetsudo is delivering its appeal to new places and a new generation beyond the Okayama region. Its attitude of constantly taking on new challenges despite being a long-established company overlaps with our own belief in "supporting people who take on challenges." We look forward to new value being created for both MUSASHI and Yamawaki Sangetsudo through this collaboration.
春田, Representative Director, O-en gift Co., Ltd.
About MUSASHI
- Name: MUSASHI (武蔵)
- Hometown: Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture
- Born: 2003
- Instagram: musashi_ishitomi
MUSASHI has enjoyed making three-dimensional works since early childhood and began drawing in earnest in junior high school. His style is to draw colorful works and characters using markers, acrylics, and gansai (Japanese pigment paints), among other media.
He turns works born from beats and lyrics, as well as floral patterns, into pieces with messages that range from positive mindsets to dark expressions, using canvas, digital art, and three-dimensional modeling.
