Japanese wooden knot mold

8.25" x 3.25" x 1.25"

antique Japanese wooden mold or "kashigata" in the shape of a knot. traditionally used to shape confectionary sweets, these molds can be used in modern times to shape small cakes or onigiri, or simply admired for their delicate, hand-carved designs. 

sourced from the Tenjin-san Flea Market in Kyoto, Japan.

kashigata date back several hundred years to the Edo period of Japan. Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, encouraged Japan's domains to domestically produce sugar. Takamatsu Domain was among the first to successfully do this.