Miyuki is an

amezaiku is Japanese candy craft artistry. An artist takes multi-colored '' mizuame'' and, using their hands and other tools such as tweezers and scissors, creates a sculpture. Amezaiku artists also paint their sculpted candy with edible dyes to give th ...

artist who had performed at Epcot's Japanese Pavilion inside the World Showcase since 1996; with her last performances occurring on November 23, 2013. She creates sculptures on a stick from soft rice dough, a taffy-like confection made from corn starch and sugar. She makes animals at the request of guests, in mere seconds; the most popular request is a dragon. She starts with a white base and adds color as needed. The candy she works with is heated to 200 degrees to make it malleable, which is one of the reasons so few people have mastered this art. She must work quickly before the sugar cools and hardens. Miyuki is one of the only women trained in Ame Zaiku or Japanese Candy Art, candy artistry dating back 250 years to the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. There are only 15 formally trained Ame Zaiku artists in the world. Miyuki began her apprenticeship in 1989 under her grandfather Mr. Kinura. After completing her training and becoming an independent candy artist, she traveled to Italy in 1994. She has also traveled extensively in Japan and Europe to demonstrate her artistic creation of the candy arts at conventions, local festivals, and private parties. She has a daughter, Shido, and when a guest asks if she plans on teaching her daughter this gift, she replies, "No, she cries because her hands hurt" (from the temperature). She has appeared on several TV shows, such as ''

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'' (2001), ''Sweet Dreams'' on

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(October 2003), and

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References

Walt Disney World Resort - Miyuki home page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyuki, Candy Walt Disney Parks and Resorts entertainment Epcot People in food and agriculture occupations Living people Year of birth missing (living people)