If you’re a big fan of J-POP or anime songs, you might know Takanori Nishikawa 西川貴教, probably better known as T.M.Revolution. He is a popular singer in Japan, known both for his unique costumes and great musical talent. He has sung many songs for the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED franchise such as “INVOKE,” “Meteor,” “ignited,” and more.

He has also participated in activities outside of music. For example, he ran a booth at Comiket and sold his own original goods which sold out in only 2 hours! He is also known for playing the role of 煉 Ren in るろうに剣心 (rurōni kenshin | official English transliteration: Rurouni Kenshin) and even producing his own anime called B-PROJECT.

This time, I want to introduce T.M.Revolution’s original Japanese sweets produced for Shiga Prefecture, which is where he is originally from. Shiga Prefecture is home to 琵琶湖 Lake Biwa, which is the largest lake in Japan. A famous Japanese sweet maker from Shiga Prefecture, 叶 匠壽庵 (kanō shōjuan | official English transliteration: Kanou Shoujuan), has created a collaboration with T.M.Revolution with the goal of helping to preserve the beauty of Lake Biwa. A portion of the proceeds generated from the sales of this collaboration will go towards keeping Lake Biwa clean.

Nishikawa Mochi

These are 西川餅 nishikawa mochi sweets! This product will be available in September but they were first sold between October and May 2021, thanks to which 700,000 JPY was donated to Shiga Prefecture.

From left to right in the image above, the flavors are 金胡麻 (kingoma | golden sesame), 白 (shiro | plain), and 蓬 (yomogi | Japanese mugwort). The plain flavor and Japanese mugwort flavor contain つぶ餡 (tsubuan | chunky sweet red bean paste) and the golden sesame flavor has こし餡 (koshian | smooth sweet red bean paste).

Each box includes five pieces and an original sticker for JPY 1,080 (tax included).

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Mizuyōkan, Nishikawa Takanori Ver.

Since this is 水羊羹 (mizuyōkan | soft Japanese red bean jelly), the product name is 水羊羹 西川貴教Ver. (mizuyōkan nishikawa takanori bājon | Mizuyōkan, Nishikawa Takanori Ver.) Actually, mizuyōkan is one of the most popular items at Kanou Shoujuan. I’ve personally tried their mizuyōkan before and it was really tasty.

These sweets are already available at their online shop until the end of this August.

The snack on the left in the picture above is 水羊羹　西川貴教 Ver. (最中種付き) (mizuyōkan nishikawa takanori bājon monakadane tsuki | Mizuyōkan, Nishikawa Takanori Ver. with monaka soft wafers). The price is JPY 1,404 (tax included) and it comes with three cups of mizuyōkan and three pieces of monaka soft wafer printed with the likeness of Nishikawa Takanori.

The one on the right is 水羊羹　西川貴教Ver. (和紅茶蜜付き) (mizuyōkan nishikawa takanori bājon wakōchamitsu tsuki | Mizuyōkan, Nishikawa Takanori Ver. with black tea flavored syrup). The price is JPY 1,188 (tax included) and it comes with three cups of mizuyōkan and three packets of syrup.

This charity project is a good chance to enjoy some Japanese sweets from a maker in Shiga Prefecture and help preserve Japan’s most iconic lake with T.M.Revolution!

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Information

• official website of Kanou Shoujuan

Note: You may need to use a proxy shopping service such as Buyee or White Rabbit Express if you'd like to have your purchases shipped internationally. Check with your preferred service to find out if they can ship this specific product which has an expiration date of 40 days after time of manufacture.