Tuesday 22 January 2013

Shirakawa-go Gingerbread House

My Rare One had to do our annual gingerbread house by herself this year because I was away in Manitoba visiting my Mom. But she did a great job! She took as her inspiration this little Shinto shrine and its torii gate that we saw in Shirakawa-go Village in Japan --


Behold its gingerbread counterpart! Yes, My Rare One did bend the "everything must be edible" rule a wee bit by using a wooden model for the torii gate but who cares? We're not perfectionistic hard-asses about such things.


And of course, the Japanese original didn't have a Christmas wreath and red ribbons on it but again, artistic licence. The front door is a chocolate bar and the warmly glowing window panes are lemon gumdrops. I think My Rare One did a particularly wonderful job of the thatched roof, which she replicated using Sun Chips and heavy icing for the snow.


And I must point out that she bricked the chimney with genuine dry-roasted edamame (soy) beans -- you can't get much more Japanese than that!


A final shot of this year's creation! Well done, my love!


[All photos by Debra She Who Seeks]

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37 comments:

jaz@octoberfarm said...

great job! how cute!

Lois said...

That is so sweet! Yum yum.

Sulky Kitten said...

Well done, indeed! I love it, very creative.

DEZMOND said...

hope HRH didn't eat the chimney....

Adam said...

I meant to make one for xmas but never got around to it.

turquoisemoon said...

OMG...that is wonderful!!! love it...

Jim said...

Yum! Great job!

Robin Larkspur said...

Architect and builder extraordinaire!!

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

this is so wonderful. how talented you rare one is. Oma Linda

Jeanne said...

Wonderful! Very clever use of endame and sun chips! Like the torii gate - it would look good in a fairy garden....

Anonymous said...

excellent, I love how she used the roasted beans for the chimney!!

SUZY8-TRACK said...

Looks awesome!

Workingdan said...

Awesome! Fantastic work by your rare one!

Wendy S. said...

I love it! If your rare one is in the mood to come to So. Cal to visit me and make an early gingerbread house, I'll pay for the ticket for both of you and of course HRH.

mxtodis123 said...

I've always wanted to make a Gingerbread House, but visiting one would be extra special.
Mary

MewlKitten said...

Wonderful! and super artistic. I love it

Cheryl said...

Utsukushii!

Magic Love Crow said...

Fantastic! Chocolate bar, lemon gumdrops, Sun chips and dry roasted soy beans! You can get any more perfect than this!!! Truly, very creative!

Southpaw said...

sweeeet!

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

That is beautiful! I wonder how long it took before you started to eat it. That chocolate bar door wouldn't have lasted long in this home. I've been meaning to make a gingerbread house for...oh...my whole life...LOL... Perhaps one day.

Jane said...

Oh so adorable!! She did a wonderful job on it :) I'm with Martha - that chocolate door would have been the first thing to go!

The Dancing Crone said...

Holy cow, Debra, that is just to cool! Artistically speaking I love the chimney and the roof the best but if you left alone in a room with it, it wouldn't have a ront door!

Riot Kitty said...

So well done! I wouldn't eat it anyway - it's a masterpiece.

G. B. Miller said...

Excellent!

Doug Jamieson said...

Charming!

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

That is one fantastic and delicious looking gingerbread house! Next time you are in or near The Peg, let me know!

Laeli said...

Oh your Rare One has great talent! I love the roof,so clever and it looks so cozy. May I move right in?

DWei said...

I wonder how it tasted.

Magaly Guerrero said...

It is perfect! I love the chimney. I bet it tasted delicious. And if you leave me alone with it, I might forget I'm not supposed to eat the gate ;-)

laughingwolf said...

yaaayyyyy!

[anyone else see a bear sitting atop
the shrine in the first shot?]

Anonymous said...

Wow, what patience she has. We attempted making one. After 5 minutes we decided to eat the candy and say screw this noise.

yellowdoggranny said...

wow, how great is that? perfect.

Bird said...

That is cool. Your dear one did a wonderful job.

The Happy Whisk said...

That bear ad was super good. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Blueberry said...

It is fantastic! Not sure if I like the recipe though (Sun chips, icing, and dry beans) so I would recommend just looking at it. ;-)

Goddess Findings said...

what a hoot, very creative Debra!! lol

Anonymous said...

Is it crazy that now I'm craving sun chips and icing?!