A Traditional Japanese Sweets For Equinoctial Weeks With Two Names

March 20th was the Spring Equinox Day. Traditionally, the seven days including the Equinox Day in both spring and fall are named “Ohigan Week”. The direct translation of “Ohigan” is “the other shore”, it means “the world of the dead”. For this year, 2016, "Ohigan Week" started on March 17th and ended March 23rd.

In Japanese traditional custom, it is a week for people to visit their family graves or to pray for their deceased family/ancestors at home. When families get together during this week in March to visit graves or to pray for their ancestors at home, one kind of traditional sweets(in the left photo) is usually prepared. 

Commonly, it has three kinds of flavors, which are sweet sesame, sweet soy powder(Kinako), and sweet mashed red beans(Anko). It’s not a spring seasonal sweets, because it is also served during the Fall Equinoctial Week.

However these sweets do have seasonal names. It is a unique feature, as it changes the name for the other season. In spring, it is usually called “Botamochi” and it is said that the name represents Botan-flower(Peony flower) which is a popular spring flower shown in the upper right hand side photo. On the other hand, in fall it is usually called “Ohagi” and the name came from Hagi-flower(Japanese bush clover), which is a typical fall flower in Japan and it is shown in the lower right hand side photo.

Nowadays not all Japanese people change the name according to the season, but I think it is a nice way to keep the sense of the season.

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?

 

Seasonal Items for traditional Boys’ Festival Day

Today, May 5th is Boys’ Festival Day which is one of the traditional seasonal events in Japan. Families with little boys would display a Samurai armor, a traditional doll of a great man, or carp shaped wind streamers at home to ensure their sons' good future.

Also there is a seasonal sweet for this day, and it is one kind of rice cakes called Kashiwa-mochi. Kashiwa means a name of a Japanese oak tree, the sweet is wrapped by an oak leaf, so it is called Kashiwa-mochi(Oak-rice-cake). The Difference from the cherry blossoms rice cake is that people don’t eat the oak leaf. The oak leaf has the meaning of wishing for prosperity.

Moreover, traditionally people take a bath scented with one kind of Japanese iris leaves. Since old times it has been said that the plant can get rid of evil thing, so people soak this leaves in their bath and pray for their health. Once a year, only for this day Japanese supermarkets sell the iris leaves like the one in the photos.