Confectionery used in the Imperial court in the Edo era was studied by the records of orders, known as “Goyohikaecho, ” kept in Toraya, a confectionary shop in Kyoto. Five volumes of Goyohikaecho were surveyed to clarify the usage of Japanese confectionery at five palaces in 1783 : Kinri Palace, Sento Palace, Omiya Palace, Nyouin Palace, and Shinnyouin Palace.
The confectionery supplied to each palace were analyzed by kind and frequency of use. The number of kinds of confectioneries were fewest in Omiya Palace and greatest in Shinnyouin Palace. Omiya Palace tended to be supplied with the same confectionery many times, while Shinnyouin Palace tended to be supplied with different kinds each time. The confectioneries were divided into three groups; seasonal, non-seasonal and others. In Shinnyouin Palace, various seasonal confectioneries were supplied, but in Omiya Palace, the number was few. By cluster analysis of classified confectionery data, Kinri, Sento and Nyouin Palaces had a strong similarity. Because of the palace hierarchy, Kinri and Sento Palaces were supplied with many high-priced confectioneries, while the other three palaces were supplied a small quantity of low-priced confectioneries.