Make the duck spirits. Gradually add the water to the shiratamako, dissolving it and creating a watery white liquid.

Then add this liquid to the shiroan paste (which is a sweet, white kidney bean paste) in a small pot, and mix very well with a rubber spatula until the liquid is completely incorporated. Place the pot on the stove, and set it on medium-low heat. Keep kneading the dough with the spatula until most of the water has been absorbed, and it no longer has a shine. It should still have a paste-like consistency and hold together well, but feel and look slightly dryer than before. You don’t want to cook it so long that it begins to brown, and remove it immediately from the heat if you notice it browning. On the other hand, if you do not cook it long enough it will be much too sticky to handle.

Once it has reached this stage, remove it from the heat, and spread the paste evenly along the insides of the pot, for it to cool. Spreading it around ½ to 1 cm thick will allow the paste to cool without drying out too much.

Once the nerikiri has cooled enough to touch and not burn your hands, scrape it off from the pot with a spatula, and roll it into a ball. If it crumbles and cracks when you are trying to shape it, it has been overcooked, and if it sticks to your hands and is very difficult to shape, it has been undercooked. In both of these instances, I would recommend making a new batch. It should feel like a slightly denser version of Play-Doh.

Take a small piece of the nerikiri and use it for the beaks, eyes, leaves and washcloths. Dye the nerikiri for the birds yellow, and divide it into 3-4 pieces, depending on the size of your strawberries and the bowl that you are using. Make orange beaks, white eyes, white square washcloths and 1 or 2 green leaves out of the smaller piece of dough.

Flatten the yellow nerikiri into disks, and wrap them around the strawberries. Using plastic wrap to do this will make it much easier! Decorate the duck spirits with their eyes and beaks and place white square washcloths and green leaves on top of some of their heads. Set these aside while you make the jelly.

Pour the water into a frying pan and bring to a boil. Place a green tea bag into the water, and steep until it becomes your desired shade of green. You can add some green food coloring if you would like it to be more green. Add and dissolve the agar in the water, and bring the heat down to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then add and dissolve the sugar, and remove from the heat. Allow this mixture to slightly cool.

Place the blackberries and canned mandarin oranges into the bottom of the bowl and pour in enough jelly to cover them. Allow this to almost set. Then place the duck spirits inside the bowl, and pour in enough remaining jelly to make it look like they’re bathing. Dip a toothpick into a small amount of black food coloring, and draw on the pupils of the birds. Allow the jelly to finally set, and you’re done!