Japanese Traditional Decoration For New Year's Celebration

New Year's Celebration is one of the biggest seasonal events for Japanese people. Traditionally people decorate entrances of their houses and shops for "The God of the Year" because "The God of the Year" is a god who will bring a good harvest to each family. In other words, Japanese invite a god of harvest every New Year. 

The decorations at entrances of shops and houses in the photos on the left hand side are the guides to invite "The God of the Year". People prepare decorations of rice cakes at home for the offerings as in the center photo below which shows a rice cake with a snowman shape called "Kagami-mochi" and a little monkey on the top. The reason of the monkey decoration on top of the offering is that 2016 is a Year of Monkey from the twelve animal cycle of Chinese zodiac, but other decorations can be also used.

Thus at the end of December each year, shops sell these decorations as in the photos on the right hand side. Today is December 31st, but actually people prepare these decorations a little earlier, around 28th, because the 31st would be too late to invite "The God of the Year".

I also put the New Year decorations at home a couple of days ago and I wish coming 2016 a good year for everybody! 
Thank you for reading my post this year!!

Traditional Customs for The Winter Solstice Day

This year December 22nd was the winter solstice day. There are some traditional customs for the day in Japan and of course it includes food.

Since old times it is said that eating pumpkins and rice porridges with red beans is good for your health. Especially eating pumpkins is a common custom for the winter solstice day all over Japan, so every year grocery shops sell lots of pumpkins on the day.

According to an old saying, you won't get sick if you eat pumpkins on the winter solstice day. Also it means wishing a good fortune. The photo on the left hand side is showing a typical Japanese pumpkin dish "Kabocha-no-nimono". It is a boiled pumpkin with soy sauce and sugar. I also added some shiitake mushrooms and Yuzu peel for additional flavor. 

Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that has a wonderful aroma. It is used a lot for Japanese winter seasonal dishes for flavor. However a major usage of Yuzu on the winter solstice day is not cooking. People put whole Yuzu fruits in their bath tab when they take a bath and enjoy the Yuzu aroma bath. The hot water with Yuzu fruits can make people's body warmer than plain hot water and people say the Yuzu aroma bath can prevent catching a cold.

Why people started these customs on the winter solstice day? Apparently the winter solstice day marks the start of a big traditional season's cycle since night is longest on that day. People in old times thought darkness becomes maximum on the day, but on the other hand it was considered as a re-start day because daytime starts to get longer from now on. The sun is recovering the power. Thus people believed things are getting better from the winter solstice day, and that may be the reason people started to practice the customs with a wish for good future.

So if you didn't eat pumpkins and didn't take a Yuzu aroma bath on the 22nd, don't worry, you have survived the day of maximum darkness!

Mt. Fuji Is Sometimes Funny

Seemed like Mt. Fuji pretended to be higher than usual this morning (The  photo on the left hand side above). I'm showing her usual height on the right hand side to make a comparison. 
Moreover, about 30 minutes later, she was even posing as if she got a smoke like the photo on the left hand side below.

By the way, I'm keep writing Mt. Fuji as "she" because Mt. Fuji is considered as a goddess in Japanese Shinto and Japanese myth. The name of the Goddess is "Konohana-no-sakuya Hime". It is said that the meaning of the name is "Princess who is as beautiful as blooming flowers". 
However, it seems like she is funny sometimes.

There are more photos of her on "Today's Fuji" page on my other blog.

A Japanese Home Cooking Recipe in Fall Season, "Ginkgo-Nut Rice"

Now Ginkgo trees are turning gorgeous yellow in Tokyo area. Also it is ginkgo nuts season, too. Many packaged ginkgo nuts are sold at grocery sections as in the photo(1). In Japan it is a popular seasonal food. The outer fruits are already removed  and washed since the flesh of Gingko fruits is  very stinky. 

The edible part is inside of beige-colored hard shells, and it is usually light yellow or bright yellow green and very beautiful. Therefore those are often used for adding a color accent to a dish in addition to enjoying the taste.

I'd like to introduce a simple Japanese home cooking recipe to enjoy the taste and flavor of ginkgo nuts. There are many ways to cook ginkgo nuts, but "Ginkgo-Nut Rice" would be one of the common ways to prepare Japanese home-cook meals. Let's see the recipe step by step with the photos numbered (1)-(8) above.

(1)Buy a package of ginkgo nuts. (You can pick ginkgo fruits from ground, but have to remove the flesh of the fruit and wash it before use)
(2)Crack the nutshells of ginkgo nuts with a nut-cracker or a hummer, but the nuts inside the shells are soft, so it would be better to stop when the shells crack.
(3)Remove the hard shells by hand.
(4)This amount would be sufficient for two or three servings.
(5)Remove the thin brown skin, and you are ready to cook rice.
(6)Measure 360mL of rice (short length sticky rice which is used for making Sushi) and wash the rice. After draining the water, add 400mL of water and about 1/2 tea spoon of salt.
(7)Add the peeled ginkgo nuts on the top of the rice and soak for 20 minutes. (You can skip the soak step if you are in a hurry)
(8)Cook the rice. If you have a rice cooker, just use it same setting as cook plain rice. If you don't have a rice cooker, please use a heavy pot like LeCreuset. 

Additional Recipe for cooking rice with a pot
After step (7), put the lid on and heat until boiling at medium heat. When it starts boiling, turn the heat low and keep it simmering for 10-13minutes. After that, turn off the heat and let stand for 10-15minutes. While you are waiting, don't open the lid as it is very important in cooking proper sticky rice. Afterwards, open the lid, and mix the rice and ginkgo nuts gently with a spatula. 

I hope you will enjoy the taste!
Actually the "Chestnut Rice" which I introduced previously on October 2nd, can be cooked in the same way. 

Photos of Traditional Japanese Sweets for Tea Ceremonies

 

In connection to the big Tea Ceremony event "Tokyo Daichakai" on my last post on the Nov. 11th, I'd like to talk about Tea Ceremony Sweets today. Though these sweets are not only for Tea Ceremony and can be found in traditional Japanese sweets shops, the sweets are one of the biggest delights for Tea Ceremony guests. 

Roughly two different types of traditional sweets are served at Tea Ceremonies and one is called "Nama-Gashi" which is shown in the upper photos and lower right hand side photo. The literal translation of "Nama-Gashi" is "Uncooked-Sweets", though it is surely cooked. The main ingredient of  "Nama-Gashi" is beans, either the whole sweets or the filling is sweetened bean paste made from boiled beans. The texture of it is soft and very moist. "Nama-Gashi" doesn't keep long ( should be consumed within a day ) and that may be the reason for the name.  

The other one is called "Hi-Gashi" which means "Dry Sweets" and is a photo is shown in the lower left hand side. It is a kind of traditional candy called "Wasanbon" and made of sugar powder. Beside "Wasanbon", rice crackers and sweetened dry beans are also "Hi-Gashi". 

Basically, the "Nama-Gashi" is served before strong macha tea of a Tea Ceremony, and "Hi-Gashi" is served before light macha tea at a formal Tea Ceremony, but when only light macha tea is served at a Tea Ceremony, either sweets can be served.

One of the most important purpose of  providing Tea Ceremony sweets is to give a sense of the season to the guests. The shape or the color is designed to remind people  of the current season.  

The sweets in the lower photos are for fall season, the shapes showing fall harvest and popular autumn foliage, such as gingko leaves and Maple leaves.  The "Nama-Gashi" sweets in the upper photos are for different seasons. Can you tell which season it would be for each of three?

 

Semi-formal Tea Ceremony at Tokyo Daichakai Event in October

I'd like to introduce a little more about Japanese Tea Ceremonies. My previous post on this blog, "The Open-Air Tea Ceremony Event With Geisha in Hachioji Downtown", was about very casual Tea Ceremony event, so people didn't have to worried about manners at all and just enjoyed the tea and sweets served by Geisha. 

Let's take a look at a more formal type of Tea Ceremony. Every year a big Tea-Ceremony event is held at Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum in October. At the event several historical buildings are used for the Tea Ceremony and most of the ceremonies are semi-formal.
Actually, the procedures for Tea Ceremony are strictly decided in a formal way and must be followed. Also it requires direcrtly sitting on a Tatami-mat floor in a traditional style until the ceremony ends as in the photo ①. Thus usually only experienced people would join the formal Tea-Ceremony. Even though this is a semi-formal event, many of the participants have probably taken some Tea Ceremony classes.

I'm going to introduce a typical procedure for the Tea Ceremony using the 5 photos above n sequence, and you may be able to see why most Japanese people would hesitate to join a Tea Ceremony if they don't have enough experience. Anyway, let's see.

①In the beginning, guests sit side by side in a row at the edge of the room and a hostess of the Tea Ceremony makes a tea according to the procedure as shown in the photo①. The guests sitting on the right end of the row is called "Osyokyaku (the highest guest)" and has to lead other Tea Ceremony guests. Thus everything will be served from the highest guest.
②Traditional sweets are served. As a rule for Tea Ceremony, sweets are always served first. Since it is a semi-formal style, there is neither plate nor fork to put the sweets on, people use the paper piled next to the sweets shown in the photo②, but formally all guests should have their own paper and a flat-pick for sweets. Each guest takes a piece of the sweets and eats it according to the ceremony procedure. 
③After guests finished the sweets, a bowl of Macha green tea as in the photo will be served for the guests one by one. The tea bowls for Tea Ceremonies are considered to have front and back and it is served showing the front to the guest. After the tea bowl is placed on the Tatami-mat the guest has to pick it up and turn it to avoid drinking from the front. After finishing the tea the guest has to turn the bowl again to face the front to the person who will clear it away. This is one of the rules for Tea Ceremony, and it is for showing a respect each other. 
④⑤When all guests have finished their tea, guests appreciate the items of the Tea Ceremony and room decorations used on the day as shown in the photos. Guests and the tea ceremony hostess talk about the history and the creator/artist of the items and the decorations and discuss the whole coordinate on that day. Therefore not only the hostess but also "the highest guest" are usually required to have enough knowledge to initiate the discussion. 

Now you might be scared to join this event. Don't worry! There is a beginners' room in this event. In the beginners' room, experienced people will explain each step kindly in detail and everybody can enjoy the experience of the Tea Ceremony. English explanation is also available at the ceremony.

An Open-Air Tea Ceremony Event With Geisha in Hachioji Downtown

As I introduced a couple of times previously, Hachioji downtown is one of the rare areas where real Geishas are still working. Geishas are usually labeled with the name of the area where they work since they traditionally work inside of a limited district. Thus, the Geishas in these photos are called “Hachioji Geisha”.

Although they are certainly working in Hachioji-City especially around downtown area, it is still difficult for people to come across them. There are not many of them. However, several events are held in the city where Hachioji Geishas participate and if you visit Hachioji on the days of these events, you can definitely see them.

This is an open-air tea-ceremony event with Hachioji Geishaa held on the Oct. 17th. With 500 Yen everybody can have a set of a traditional sweet and a traditional tea bowl of Macha-gren-tea (a strong green tea made of green tea powder) poured by Geishas. Of course a Geisha will serve the tea set to you.

Apparently the event started only a couple years ago, but it became one of the annual Geisha events in Hachioji.

A Comparison of "Clear Moon" and "Cloud Covered Moon" on the Thirteenth Night in October

As I wrote on the 27th of September, traditionally people in Japan enjoy watching the Moon on the 13th night of the lunar cycle as well as a full Moon(on the 15th night of the lunar cycle) in fall. The 13th night was on the October 25th this year, 2015, though it wasn't featured as much as the 15th-Night-Moon. Probably viewing the 13th-Night-Moon became less common Nowadays. The weather was fine on the 25th, so a clear almost-round-Moon was beautiful in the early evening though some clouds came out later the night.

Centuries ago, a tea-ceremony master apparently stated "I don't enjoy viewing the Moon except when it is covered by clouds." A famous Japanese author in the 14th century, Kenko Yoshida, also said that a crescent Moon or cloud-covered Moon has a beauty you feel in your heart,  in addition to the visual beauty. Probably that started the idea which is now called "A sense of beauty with incompleteness".

Both photos above are taken from the same spot on the same day. The left hand side photo shows a very clear Moon, but some people may prefer the other photo showing the Moon covered by some cloud since it can evokes your emotion the same way it did centuries ago...
 
Well, which one do you think is more beautiful? The "clear full moon" or the "cloud-covered moon"?

Colored Leaves Season Has Just Started in Tokyo Area

Beautiful fall season has started in Tokyo area. Lots of leaves are turning red, orange or yellow, and now we can see the gradual change from green to the fall color.

As I mentioned several times previously, Japanese always love seasonal things. The same way people go out for "Hanami (Seasonal Flowers Viewing)", people rush to see beautiful colored leaves in this season. 

However, we don't use the word "Viewing" for the colored leaves in fall. Somehow we use "Hunting" for the colored leaves, such as "Let's go to Momiji-Gari (Colored Leaves Hunting) this weekend!"

Perhaps it is the gentlest hunt, people hunt beautiful leaves with their eyes or cameras. 

The photo was taken in Tama-City, Tokyo.

A Samurai Parade, "Houjo Ujiteru Festival" in Hachioji

On October 18th, the Houjo Ujiteru Festival was held in Hachioji City, Tokyo. It featured a Samurai parade and demonstrations of Japanese Samurai sword and Samurai conch horns, which were used as a cue for Samurai war in the Middle Ages.

Houjo Ujiteru is one of the historical Samurai lords of the late 15th century. He was the third son of Houjo head-family in Sagami-area, which is now Kanagawa Prefecture, and Ujiteru was entrusted with the defence of the east side of their territory, which is now Hachioji City.

His oldest brother suffered an early death and the second oldest brother took over the family's main castle, Odawara Castle. His two younger brothers protected the north and the south part of their territory. Apparently the family was united strongly against their enemies until his castle, Hachioji Castle, was conquered in 1590 and the whole Houjo family was overthrown with the fall of their main castle, Odawara Castle, in the same year.

Thus for this festival, a group of people from each area that his brothers protected join the parade to unite with Hachioji people. There were people from Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Shizuoka Prefecture. It was nice to see that the strength of family bond in the Middle Ages helped to connect people from different prefectures hundreds of years later.

Photos of Another Taste Of Fall, Chestnuts(Kuri) and Chestnut Rice

Chestnut (Kuri) is also a popular seasonal food in the fall. Probably one of the most common and popular Japanese home cooking for chestnuts would be “Chestnut Rice (Kuri-Gohan)”. It is a very simple dish. People just cook rice with a pinch of salt and lots of chestnuts which are peeled and  the astringent coat removed as in the right hand side photo, and enjoy the natural taste and flavor of chestnuts.

The English word “Chestnuts” is not commonly used in Japan although Japanese use many English words as daily words and English classes are compulsory in Japanese schools. However, misunderstanding the French word for chestnut “Marron”, as an English word. “Marron” is used widely in Japan.

Japan has been importing so many words from various foreign countries, and people use them without recognizing the origin. Sometimes people simply assume it must be an English word but in fact it isn’t.
This may be do to the fact that the French sweets “Marron Glaces” became too famous in Japan.

A Photo of Mt.Fuji Under The Fall Sky At Sunset

In Japanese this kind of cirrus cloud which has a fibroid structure is called “Ken-Un”. It means “Silk-Cloud” and it is considered as a typical cloud in fall. During summer, gigantic column of clouds at lower altitude are often seen in Japan, so when people see this “Ken-Un” at higher altitude they would say “Oh, it’s fall now!”

The photo was taken in the west side of Tokyo.

A Photo Of A Beautiful Insect, Tamamushi (Buprestid Beetle)

Summer is the season that many of bugs become active. Until 20-30 years ago "bug hunting" had been a major kids' play in Japan, especially among boys. During summer vacations, kids were running around chasing bugs with insect nets and were proud of themselves if they catch big beetles or beautiful insects such as Japanese rhinoceros beetles (Kabuto-mushi), stag beetles (Kuwagata mushi), or big dragonflies (Yanma).

The bug in the photo above is called “Tamamushi” in Japanese and it means “Jewel Beetle”. Because of its beautiful metallic color. In fact it was used for decorations in anciant times it was used for decoration in ancient times. When I was little it still was one of the popular bugs and I would be showing it off to my friends if I could catch one.

Now the "bug hunting" is only a minor activity for kids, especially these popular insects are in decline in big cities, such as the center of Tokyo. So, city kids have to buy insects when they want to have them and nowadays the aforesaid popular insects are available at pet shops. However, in West Tokyo area, kids can still enjoy catching bugs since enough wildness is remaining there.

Being intimate with bugs may be a part of the Japanese culture, but how about trying it out?

A Photo of The Chronological Change Of Mt. Fuji's Appearance from April to July

Today, July 1st , finally the climbing season for Mt. Fuji started! It is called “Yama-biraki Day(Mountain-Opening Day) .

This year, the news told that safety goods were equipped at mountain huts there and the evacuation map is being made for the first time ever. It might sound strange since it is one of the most famous volcanoes in Japan, but the last eruption was in 1707. Mt. Fuji has been dormant for more than 300years, so Japanese people almost forgot the fact it is a non-dead volcano, and hadn’t really thought of the eruption. However people started to think about the possibility in these days since some volcanoes became active recently and a couple of them erupted all of sudden.

The photos are taken from the west side of Tokyo. Although it looks very beautiful, when you go close to climb the mountain you will see the upper place of it is covered by volcanic sand and rocks and has no plants. After all it is really a volcano and the outline is so sharply showing the beautiful symmetry shape with the flat top which is a huge crater from distance like in the photo below.

Various Japanese Sake Drinking Wares for Different Temperature Conditions

I’d like to continue the same topic “about Japanese Sake” a little more. I’m showing some typical Sake drinking wares in the photo below. As you can see various materials are used for the wares. The reason is not only for different occasions but also for drinking temperatures. Since old times Japanese have enjoyed Sake with varied temperatures.

Nowadays most restaurants and bars are ready to serve only two or three kinds of temperatures of Sake, such as “Atsu-kan(hot)”, “Reishu(cold)” and sometimes “Nuru-kan(warm)”. However, traditionally there had been much more variety for the temperatures to drink Sake. 

Apparently with different temperature the taste and the flavor of the same Sake would be slightly changed, thus people of old times named each temperature condition at almost every 5℃ and enjoyed those. 

According to the information from Sake breweries, each condition has some feature like below.

・Higher than 55℃( 131 ) : Tobikiri-Kan (Extra-Hot)  The flavor becomes stronger, the taste becomes dry.

・Around 50℃( 122F ) : Atsu-Kan(Hot)  The flavor becomes sharp.

・Around 45℃( 113F ) : Jou-Kan(Good Heat) The flavor and taste becomes crisp.

・Around 40℃( 104F ): Nuru-Kan(Warm) The flavor blooms.

・Around 35℃( 95F ) : Hitohada-Kan(Body Heat) Can enjoy good rice flavor, the taste becomes light.

・Around 30℃( 86F ) : Hinata-Kan(Sunshine Temp) The taste becomes smooth and the flavor becomes prominent.

・Around 20℃( 68F ) : Sitsuon(Room Temp) The flavor becomes mild and the taste becomes soft.

・Around 15℃( 59F ) : Suzu-Hie(Cool) The flavor becomes colorful and the taste becomes thick.

・Around 10℃( 50F ) : Hana-Bie(Flowery Cold) The flavor gets settlement and the taste becomes delicate.

・Around 5℃( 41F ): Yuki-Bie(Snowy Cold) The taste becomes dry and crisp, the flavor becomes light.

It is sad but there wouldn't be any restaurants or bars which can take those delicate orders even in Japan, so If you are interested in those please try at home!

Photos of Yatsugatake-Mountains and Mt.Fuji, Taken from Hokuto-City, Yamanashi Prefecture

There is a group of mountains called “Yatsugatake” in Yamanashi prefecture and I’m showing it on the left hand photo . The name “Yatsugatake” means “Eight Mountains” because in fact it consists of eight mountains within a small area.
Yamanashi prefecture is famous for the location of Mt.Fuji. Thus Mt.Fuji can be seen beautifully from the “Yatsugatake” area as in the photo on the right. Actually there is an old tale about Yatsugatake and Mt.Fuji, which is…
     Long long ago, the eight mountains, which are now called “Yatsugatake”, was originally one huge mountain. The mountain was so proud of his height then he started to tell other mountains that he must be taller than the famed mountain, Mt.Fuji. Eventually the rumor what he was telling to other mountains reached Mt.Fuji, and it made Mt.Fuji so angry. Mt Fuji said “What a swelled-headed mountain he is!” and smashed the mountain. The blow was extremely strong so that the mountain was split into eight lower mountains, then other mountains started to call the eight “Yatsugatake”...

It sounds like Mt.Fuji had an irritable character back then. You may think it is unlike its beautiful appearance in the photo below, but since Mt.Fuji is a volcano she can be a capricious beauty. She? Yes, Mt.Fuji is generally worshiped as a goddess. With its graceful appearance I think it would have been natural to call it a goddess.