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1
Combine the joshinko and shiratamako in a bowl. Add 80 ml hot water gradually, kneading continuously until the dough is fully homogeneous and smooth. The dough is ready when it has the give of a soft earlobe — the standard Japanese confectionery test — neither cracking at the surface nor sticking to the hands.
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2
Divide the dough into portions of 15–18 g each and roll each between the palms into a smooth sphere. Dango larger than this range will require extended cooking that overcooks the exterior before the centre is set. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a full boil and lower the dango in batches. Cook until each dumpling rises to the surface and then a further 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a lightly oiled tray to cool briefly. The dango are done when they float and the surface is set, opaque, and no longer raw-looking.
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3
Combine the dark soy, sugar, mirin, and water in a small saucepan. Dissolve the katakuriko in a small amount of the cold water before adding it to the pan to prevent lumps. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. This is where the dish lives or dies: the tare must reach a thick, glossy, flowing consistency — coating a spoon cleanly — without being cooked so far that it sets rigid on cooling. Remove from the heat the moment the glaze turns translucent and pulls away from the sides of the pan in slow, heavy ribbons.
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4
Thread the cooled dango onto skewers in the Shimogamo configuration: four dumplings close together with a single dumpling set slightly apart at the top, referencing the human body in the shrine's religious iconography. Place the skewers on a cast-iron ridged pan or griddle at the highest possible heat, or over charcoal. Grill approximately 90 seconds per side. The dango are ready when distinct char marks appear and the exterior has firmed perceptibly — the interior remains yielding while the surface carries the aromatic Maillard character essential to yakidango.
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5
Immediately spoon or brush the warm mitarashi tare over the grilled dango so the glaze coats and clings. Serve at once. The window between grilling, glazing, and service should not exceed 15 minutes; beyond that point the dango firm, the tare sets, and the defining contrast between soft-yielding interior, charred exterior, and flowing glaze is lost. The served dango should glisten.