KYOTO -- To mark the end of the summer holidays, some 100 people, including many schoolchildren, tried their hand Saturday at making "kyogashi" Japanese confectionery at the Kyoto Confectionery Museum.

The museum was set up by Tawaraya Yoshitomi, a long-established kyogashi maker based in Kyoto's Kamigyo Ward.

During the afternoon session, and after trying Japanese tea and sweets and learning the history of Japanese confectionery, 12 families made sweets known as "himawari," or sunflower, by covering sweet bean paste with mashed Chinese yam using chopsticks.

"It was harder than I thought. You can't hold the sweets in your hand very long as they start to melt quickly," said Miki Iwamoto, who had traveled from Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, with her three children to take part.

One of her children, 9-year-old Shun, said he liked the soft texture of the mashed yam.

Yoshimasa Ishihara, president of the company and director of the museum, said the event was part of various activities to mark the first anniversary of the museum's opening. The event was organized to respond to claims that there are more classes that teach how to make Western-style confectionery than for Japanese sweets.

"The museum is a base for disseminating information on Kyoto's confectionery culture," Ishihara said. "We hope to provide many people with an opportunity to learn more about kyogashi through tasting and making it."