What Is The Japanese Semi-natural Area Called 'SATOYAMA'?

Recently, the use of Japanese word, “Satoyama”, which means “Traditional Smi-natural Area Formed Around Human Habitation”, is becoming more frequent in magazines, newspapers, TV programs, and in event advertisements. The word itself is not a new word, but it is receiving a lot of attention.

Since Japan is a small country where mountains account for two third of the land, most habitable areas are very close to the mountains or on the  mountains since ancient times. Therefore, traditionally, people have made good use of everything that mountains provide, built houses near the mountains using wood and bamboo for their houses, fences, and many kinds of daily necessaries, collected edible fruits, nuts, and wild plants from the mountains, started rice paddies and vegetable fields utilizing natural springs or creeks. For this reason, people have been maintaining the boundary between the wildness and their habitation zone, by thinning the forest and bamboos, cleaning around the water source, and controlling weeds and the bush.

As a result, this way of traditional living style created semi-natural areas surrounding local communities with seasonal wild flowers and small creatures. This type of surrounding area is called “Satoyama”. “Sato” means villages and “Yama” means mountains, so it is like “villagers’ mountain area”. Satoyama often includes rice paddies and narrow irrigation canals, and frogs, insects, small freshwater fish and shells are typical creatures in Satoyama in addition to birds and small mammals.

However, during the course of the high-rate economic growth after 1960’s, people developed many large-scale residential areas for houses, shops and facilities for daily life, and “Satoyama” areas are disappearing quickly especially around Tokyo. Recently, though, some people living in the city wanted to have nature close to their lives and found a few remaining of Satoyama areas, then they started to appreciate “Satoyama” concept. As more people are becoming aware of the importance of nature conservation, they realized that Satoyama is a good example to show how people and nature can exist together. Now Satoyama is becoming a symbol of coexistence with nature. 

Hope you will enjoy seeing typical views of Satoyama in the photos!

Aigamo-ducks Are Working Hard In Rice Paddies In Hachioji

On my previous post on May 25th, I introduced a farmer cultivating rice with “Aigamo-duck Method” in Hachioji. 

In Japan it is well-known as an organic rice-farming method with "no waste". Aigamo-ducks are a hybrid between wild and domestic ducks. They help keep the rice paddy free of insects and weeds. As you can see in the photos the rice paddy has beautiful rice plants because the ducks are really working hard and have eaten all the insects and weeds. Furthermore, when the ears of rice are formed, the ducks are sold for their meat. So, they are agricultural products at the same time they are workers of the farm.

The reason that Aigamo-ducks are specifically used for this style farming is that they grow faster than wild-types and easily adapt to the environment. In fact the ducks work only for several months after farmers planted rice seedlings into rice paddies. They will be harvested right before the rice years start to come out, because they are too diligent to eat up all the ears of rice.

After Aigamo-ducks were released into rice paddies with enclosures they are left free, but it is not difficult to catch them at harvesting. The farmer said that the ducks remember the farmer because of imprinting and also he sometimes gave them additional food as treats, so they come out of the rice paddies when they hear the farmer's voice as you can see in the lower row of photos. It is important because the farmer can’t leave any ducks left behind not only for protecting his rice but also for a regulation of environmental preserving that tells these types of hybrid created by human must not be released into nature.

Apparently, their meat is very good for making soup broth although it is a little too hard to eat as meat dishes. Probably their hard work makes their body muscularity, but anyway rice and a soup with duck broth would be a wonderful set for a meal. Hope you have a chance to taste them!

Introduction of Local Agriculture in Tokyo 1

It might be against the typical image of Metropolitan Tokyo, but you can still find farms inside Tokyo as I introduced before. There are even full-time farmer families who have kept their land for generations. Since rice has been the most important staple food for Japanese from ancient times, rice farming had given a lot of influence to Japanese culture and many farmers used to grow rice in addition to other vegetables. It can be said that farmers are handing down a certain part of Japanese culture. However, the situation is becoming more and more harder for them due to increasing costs and lack of successors and imported cheap rival products. I’d like to introduce two farmers in Tokyo this time as examples of Japanese agriculture.

Sawai Farm is run by a 12^th generation full time farmer family in Hachioji. Surprisingly, Mr. Sawai said, his family history goes back to the early 17^th century. He is growing rice and raise pigs on the land which has been handed down for generations. He took over his family business after graduating from university about 20 years ago. The business circumstances were already not good at that time because people preferred to buy rice from prefectures like Niigata which are famous for good rice brands. Then he started to grow organic rice using "Aigamo-Ducks Method". At that time the issue of conservation of nature and organic farming were getting people’s attention. Word got around that his rice was safe because it was pesticide-free, so it became popular and sold out every year.

Unfortunately, the good condition got an end suddenly in 2011. Many of his customers started to buy rice from western Japan because the area is farther from Fukushima. 

However, Mr. Sawai is not giving up. He is even taking over his neighbor’s rice paddies which were about to be abandoned due to lack of a successor. Also he is trying to build new connections with consumers by holding farm tours to see the debut of Aigamo-Ducks in rice paddies and selling his rice through the internet. Since Hachioji is a major residential area in Tokyo, his farm is easily accessed to hold the tour, and also the cute ducks are helping to attract people!

Takaharaya Farm is also run by a family who has kept the family business for generations in Hachioji. They are cultivating various products including rice, and trying to make a new local specialty from Hachioji to liven up the local market. 

They said that the size of farming area and the amount of agricultural products in Hachiohij City are both No.1 among the cities and wards in Tokyo but somehow there has been no famous agricultural specialty of Hachioji since old times. Although Takharaya Farm was growing more than twenty different vegetables and fruits, none of them was a Hachioji special. Therefore, 7 years ago they decided to grow passion fruits. The reason they chose tropical fruits was because of the climate conditions of Hachioji. Hachioji is known as the place of “hotter in summer and colder in winter” compared with other places in Tokyo. So they thought the hot summer in Hachioji would fit the image of passion fruits and started to grow the fruits with several neighbor farmers. 

Now the new product has gotten some local attention, as some local cake shops started to sell new sweets containing Hachioji passion fruits, such as Swiss roll cakes and Japanese traditional sweets, Dorayaki. Hope Hachioji passion fruits will be spread widely as a new specialty in Hachioji!

How Japanese People Are Enjoying Valentine's Day?

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Yes, February 14th is Valentine's Day in Japan, as well, yet events of this day are a little different from that of Western countries. Then, how Japanese people enjoy the day?

Apparently Valentine's Day culture was originally imported to Japan in late 1950s as a romantic event for couples although it wasn't really anchored down. However, in late 1970s, Valentine's Day started to be common among young girls because Japanese candy companies made advertisements such as "Girls! Valentine's Day is a day for romantic love! Why don't you muster up your courage to give a chocolate gift to the boy you love on this day? The chocolate will tell the boy how you feel!".  It attracted many young girls who were very shy to verbally confess their feelings. 

Surely it would be much easier for them to just hand a chocolate gift and say "This is my Valentine's gift, please receive it" than confessing own feeling. Also girls and women who had a boyfriend or husband welcomed the culture because most Japanese people were very shy back then and it was easy and fun to give a chocolate gift instead of telling "I love you".

Since then, Valentine's Day has been a day for girls and women in Japan. They give chocolates to the boy they love, or their boyfriend/husband. So, most shopping malls have Valentine's chocolate gift corners in this season, and the customers at the corners are mostly girls/women.

Yet apparently some parts of Japanese Valentine's Day culture is now changing. According to a newspaper survey, nowadays not so many girls/women are giving chocolates to boys/men who they want to confess their feelings. Instead of that many girls/women answered that they give chocolates to their friends or father. It seems like giving chocolate gifts on Valentine’s Day is becoming more like a social activity in these days.

Perhaps Japanese girls and women are not very shy anymore to need this day to confess their feelings? Anyway, they are still buying chocolates for this day!

Setsubun Event At Major Shrines/Temples And Local Small Shrine/Temples Would be Very Different

I introduced about a traditional Japanese seasonal custom on February 3rd, "Setsubun", in my previous post on February 2nd. Actually the event is not only for at home, many shrines and temples has "Setsubun" event all over Japan.

However, the event would be very different between big famous Shinto shrines/Buddhism temples and local small shrines/temples as you can see in the photos. 

Many major Shinto Shrines and Buddhism temples hold "Setsubun" event as one of their biggest seasonal events. They invite celebrities such as popular singers, actors, sports athletes and ask them to scatter soy beans for the ritual. Also some people, who were born in the same "year-of-the-animal-symbol" in the cycle of Chinese zodiac,  are asked to scatter soy beans since it has been said that they can bring good luck more than other people. 

This year is a "Year-of-Rooster", so many people who were born in a "Year-of-Rooster" wore traditional clothes called "Kamishimo" and scattered soy beans at Mt.Takao Yakuo-in Temple in Hachioji City, Tokyo as you can see in the upper photos. Then the spectator tried to catch the beans as many as they can to bring good luck back to their home.

On the contrary, in local small shrines and temples, people enjoy Setsubun event with a homey atmosphere as you can see in the lower photos. They were taken at Asakawa Konpira Shrine near Takao Station in Hachioji City Tokyo ( I introduced the shrine previously on my website.Please click here to see the post!). Since local small temples and shrines have been working as community centers, people just get together and enjoy eating soy beans or scattering soy beans as priests/monks say a prayer for people's good luck and healthy life. 

Both of types of Setsubun Activities are fun! Hope you can have a chance to experience these!

To Northwest By North! A Japanese Traditional Custom on Setsubun Day

The title is not a typo of Hitchcock movie. I'm continuing the same topic about "Setsubun Day(Feb. 3rd)". As I introduced in my previous post, Japanese people eat roasted soy beans the same number as their own age on Setsubun Day to wish a healthy year. Actually there are more traditional customs relating food on this day.

Many people also eat an un-sliced whole rolled sushi on Setsubun Day as shown in the upper photos. Although it was originally a local Setsubun custom in Western Japan, it became common all over the country these days since supermarkets and convenience store industries thought it would be a good business chance to sell lots of rolled sushi and started to advertise the custom. 

According to the custom, eating whole rolled sushi facing the lucky direction of the year based on the Chinese zodiac animal symbol of the year would bring a good luck. Therefore, nowadays many shops sell un-sliced whole rolled sushi on Setsubun day with information on the lucky direction of the year. Then, the lucky direction of 2017 is north northwest.

So, how about trying to eat whole rolled Sushi looking toward north northwest on Setsubun Day? However, whole rolled Sushi can be too much amount to finish. In fact people often eat just cut rolled Sushi instead as shown in the lower photos. 

*If you would like to cook rolled Sushi at home, here is the recipe of basic rolled Sushi! (Click here!)

Introduction Of A Japanese Traditional Seasonal Event Called "Setsubun"

Tomorrow, February 3rd is called "Setsubun" day in Japan. “Setubun” directly means “The Boundary of Season”. With Japanese traditional season calendar called “Nijushi-sekki (24 seasons in a year)”, February 4th is the day of “Risshun”, which means the beginning of spring. Thus, February 3rd is the last day of winter.

On Setsubun day, there are traditional customs of people removing evil things from their houses and welcoming good luck. For the ritual to expel ogres and to invite good luck, people spread roasted soy beans inside and outside of their houses, because ancient people believed soy beans have some spiritual power.

People throw soy beans inside of their houses to invite good luck as they say “Fuku wa uchi! (Good luck comes inside!), and outside of their houses to expel ogres as they say “Oni wa soto! (Ogres go outside!). Also some people put holly branches on their front porch, too, because it has been said that ogres hate holly leaves.

Some of roasted soy bean packages for Setsubun contain a mask of ogre as shown in the upper photo above. As a part of the traditional custom of throwing soy beans, one of the family members plays a role of ogre wearing the mask, and other family members throw soy beans to the ogre-person to expel him. Families with little kids especially enjoy this simulated expelling activity.

However, nowadays some people feel clean up work after the activity is troublesome and it's a waste of food. Then as you can see in the lower photo above, supermarkets started to sell peanuts with shell for Setsubun Day because it's big enough to collect completely to clean up rooms, moreover the thrown peanuts are still edible after they collected them from the floors. Sometimes practicality would be more important over traditional ways.

After the activity of throwing beans or nuts, people eat the same number of roasted soy beans as their own age, as a traditional custom for Setsubun to keep a good health for the year. 

Well, this one would be easier for everybody to practice. So how about trying it tomorrow?

Are Japanese People Losing Traditional Eating Habits?

On January 7th, there is a traditional custom called "Nanakusa" and people eat special rice porridge with 7 kinds of vegetables which is shown in the lower right hand side photo. 

"Nana-kusa" directly means "Seven Grass". The seven kinds ingredients for this traditional porridge are exactly decided but most of them are nowadays considered as the weeds rather than vegetables. In ancient times people often took their cooking ingredients from fields, so the custom keeps a vestige of the old eating habits.

During New Year’s holidays, most Japanese people have gatherings with family and friends. Even after the holidays ended people would have New Year's parties until the end of the traditional New Year's celebration period, 7th (or sometimes 15th). Therefore people tend to have lots of food and drinks during the days, and eating rice porridge containing leaf vegetables on January 7th would be a good break for the stomach. So, "Nanakusa" is a custom of an ancestral wisdom.

However, since people just use common vegetables from shops for their daily cooking nowadays, this custom may be becoming a very unfamiliar cooking. Thus, today we can find a detailed instruction in the set of the seven ingredients of "Nanakusa" porridge when we buy it from shops.

As you can see in the instruction paper on the lower left hand side photo, there are illustrations of the seven kind of ingredient plants with the cooking direction. What's more, there is a note to explain about trifling matters of the ingredients. For example, "one of the ingredient leaves might have a black spots on it but it is a natural feature of the grass", or "the other one might contain seeds with it but the seeds are also edible", and so on. 

Perhaps, some people are completely forgetting about old eating habits cooking wild plants and became too picky about unfamiliar food in these days...?

A Recipe Of Japanese New Year's Dishes:How To Cut Kamaboko Fishcake Into Decorative Shapes

Are you interested in Japanese New Year's dishes, "Osechi dishes"? Today, I'd like to introduce one of the easy recipes. It doesn't require too much labor but it can instantly add a New-Year-Celebration feeling on dishes. 

In Japan there are various kind of fish cakes. "Kamaboko" is one of them which is steamed fish-meat in a semi-cylindrical shape, and it is often served as a New Year's dish. You can just slice it to serve, but if it is cut into decorative shapes, they can be a nice accent on New Year's dishes as you can see in the photos on the first row.

Here in the second row and the third row of photos above, I'm introducing 2 kinds of cutting way which look like birds' shape. Since this year is a "Year of Bird" in Japan as I wrote in my previous post on January 3rd, it would be good decorations for the New Year. Even for later years, it would still fit New Year dishes because cranes are one of major lucky symbol animals in Japanese culture. 

Hope you will enjoy trying this decorative cut!

Do You Know A Special Kind Of Tokkuri (Sake Serving Bottole) That Can Chirp?

With Japanese traditional custom, people make a toast and drink Sake to celebrate the New Year even from morning between January 1st and 3rd. Originally the Sake was a special kind of medical drinks called "Toso" or "Otoso". The ingredients were a mixture of Chinese medicines, and people put it into Sake by hoping a longevity and drink for New Year's toast.

You can still find the powder mixture for the traditional medical drinks before New Year, but nowadays many people drink just plain Sake although they still call it "Toso" or "Otoso". The word probably had become a word for new-year-toast Sake. 

By the way, for these occasion people tend to use more old-fashioned Sake set. Traditionally, Sake is served with Sake serving bottles called "Tokkuri", and small Sake cups called "Choko", as you can see in the photos. They are made of ceramics and very useful since Sake can be served with both of cold temperature and hot temperature, and china ware can work well for both condition. During New Year's celebration, when families get together they serve Sake each other with these traditional Sake set and make a toast at home.

As I wrote in my previous post on January 3rd, this year is a "Year of Bird" in Japan. So, I'd like to introduce a special kind of Tokkuri (Sake serving bottle) which would fit to celebrate this New Year. It is shown in the upper right hand side photo and lower photo.  

The Tokkuri (Sake serving bottle) has a little bird on the top. Actually the bird is not only a design. Underneath of the bird there is a hole and with the structure the bottle itself works as a whistle. Every time when it is tilted to serve Sake, the bottle make a sound like the little bird is chirping. 

This kind of Tokkuri (Sake serving bottle) is called "Uguisu Dokkuri". It means "Bush-Warbler's Sake Serving Bottle". It would be a perfect item to serve Sake for this New Year!

If you are interested in the sound of "Uguisu Dokkuri", there is a short video of it below. Please check it to hear how the little bush-warbler chirps!

There Are Many Designs Related To Birds For The New Year's Celebration

In Japan people have been using the 12 animal symbols of the Chinese zodiac, which are shown in lower left end photo, since ancient times. In old times it was applied for many general indications such as direction, time, date, and year, but nowadays it is commonly used only for year indication. This year, 2017, is a "Year of Rooster", so you would see many "Rooster" designs for New Year's celebration.

As you can see in the photos on the upper row, there is a rooster design for 2017 New Year's greeting cards section at a shop, a big votive wooden board with a rooster design for a Shinto shrine, and a rooster figure on a rice cake for a New Year's offering. 

However, the Japanese word of "Year of Rooster" is "Tori-doshi" and actually it just means "Year of Bird" phonetically. Thus people tend to stretch their interpretation and use other kinds of birds designs as same, although they know it originally meant "rooster". 

Please look at the right end photo on the lower row. It is a display windows of a department store for the new year located in Shibuya. The left-hand side window shows "A Happy New Year" in Kanji (Chinese characters), and the right-hand side window shows many Kanji (Chinese characters) for various birds. The photo would be too small to read, but here are characters for crane, hawk, swan, heron, bush warbler...

You might think they seem to be too complicated characters to understand. Actually we don't have to know all of them to recognize the characters mean some kinds of birds. Kanji (Chinese characters) are ideograms, and there is a part of Kanji (Chinese characters) means "bird". So when passersby find the part in these complicated characters, they can tell they means different kinds of birds even though they don't know all of them exactly. Perhaps, some people would slow down to read them, then it can be a good idea for a display window. 

If you find some bird designs after the New Year, they may be designs which meant this "Tori-Doshi (Year of Bird)"!

New Year Greeting In 2017, Happy New Year!!

A Happy New Year!!
These dishes in the photo above are Japanese traditional New Year's dishes called "Osechi Dishes". In Japan, families and friends get together and enjoy these dishes with Sake during New Year celebration period (between January 1st and 3rd). 

Actually the "Osechi Dishes" would be different in almost each family. Even in one family it can be different because there are huge variety for these traditional cooking and almost every legion has some local special dishes/styles. So the dishes in the photos are just my tradition and it's not completely same with my mother's since I added some dishes I'd like to have and also took in my husband's family's tradition. 

However, in the dishes above there are many typical traditional Osechi dishes which many families cook as standards. If you are interested in each dishes, please check my previous post in 2016, "Introduction of Major Osechi Dishes" (Please click here)! 

Hope you will enjoy my blogs in 2017!