The seasonal changes are often celebrated in Japanese art, and the art of confectionery is no different.

Every year we are treated to a deluge of spring, summer, autumn and winter inspired traditional Japanese sweets. They use seasonal flavours, as well as exquisite presentation, to evoke an appropriate feeling for the time of year.

But sometimes, a sweet comes along that no matter how delicious it is, it's just too pretty to eat. The intricate and beautiful sweets of Hiroyuki Sanno (@wagashi_sanchan) are definitely an example of this.

He creates beautifully crafted tributes to many of Japan’s seasonal markers, like flowers and natural phenomena, with the intention of expressing Japan’s rich culture.

Recently, his fireworks-inspired nerikiri sweets have attracted a lot of attention online, as one of the quintessential symbols of Japanese summer.

The popularity of fireworks may have helped spur Sanno’s firework nerikiri to become a viral hit on Twitter, but of course what really catches the eye is just how beautiful the sweets themselves are.

Nerikiri is a type of sweet made with white bean paste and mochi which forms a dough. It can be easily coloured, moulded and carved to create various shapes, and its malleability lends itself to incredibly detailed designs.

These delicate but striking firework sweets have been made using a traditional technique which gives the confection a gradient-like hue, by covering the colourful treat with a thin, translucent layer of white nerikiri.

A sprinkle of gold leaf added the final sparkle in the middle of the rainbow fireworks.

Sadly, Hiroyuki Sanno doesn’t have a permanent shop where his creations can be bought, instead he carries out events and workshops which he announces on his social media.

If you want to torture yourself further with photos of amazing sweets that you can probably never possess, be sure to follow him on both Twitter and Instagram!