New Year's Custom in Japan (Part 2)

I would like to introduce some more events for a new year.

Hatsumoude （初詣）is to go to the shrine/temple for the first time of a year.

Iseyama Koutai Jinguu (Yokohama, Japan) on January 3rd

It is a custom for our family to go to the shrine near our house. I don't know the reason why my parents chose this shrine but it is quite big and many people comes. This year, I went there on new year's day and January 3rd. The picture above is the shrine on 3rd. So it was not too crowded. On new year's day, there are so many people that we can't move quickly.

Why did I go there twice? because... I needed a special pray for my Yakudoshi. Yakudoshi is bad/unlucky year and we have to be careful during the year. And so we try to remove bad luck which is called "Yaku" in Japanese. Yakudoshi is defined by the age (please refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakudoshi). For me, this year is "Ato-yaku" which means unlucky year after the mainly unlucky year "Hon-yaku". In the shrine, "Kan-nushi"(priest of Shintoism) gives us a special pray called "Suzu-harae/harai" or simply "Harae". It is purification by removing bad things around me. I couldn't take a picture of this ceremony, but it is not too complicated. We were just standing in front of the god and bowing. The priest (Kan-nushi) say something (Norito) and did the action of cleaning us with white tool looks like a duster or broom. After the harai, we got a Ofuda (plate of lucky charm or bad-luck removing charm) with each name.There are some stalls for selling lucky charms. It is fun to see such colorful luck charms with various shapes. Some of them are in the shape of farming tool.

My Yakuyoke fuda (Ofuda)

Stall for selling lucky charms

 Another thing we always do in the shrine is to buy "Omikuji". It is a piece of paper with some words for predicting things in a year. There are some kinds; "Dai-kichi", "Chu-kichi","Sho-kichi", "Kichi", "Sue-kichi","Kyo" (from good to bad). This year, I got a "Kichi" which means good. Even with Atoyaku, I maybe have a nice year!!

Nanakusa-gayu （七草粥）
I ate a Nanakusa-gayu, this morning because it was January 7th. "Nanakusa" means seven herbs or weed. We memorize seven kinds as "Seri, Nazuna, Gogyo, Hakobera, Hotokenoza, Suzuna, Suzushiro" Haru-no Nanakusa. It is like a poem. "Haru-no nanakusa" means seven herbs in Spring because we also have "Nanakusa" in autumn. I thought we eat this as our stomach is so tired with many big meals during a new year's holiday. However, it seems that there is another meaning. Nonetheless we do not know the original meaning exactly.

Nanakusa-gayu which I cooked by myself

Mochi-tsuki （餅つき）
Mochi (Sticky rice cake) is indispensable for our new year's holidays and so we often have this event of making Mochi before the new year. Anyway, we had Mochi-tsuki in the campus of our university on 8th January. We could try beating Mochi with a Kiné (a big wood hammer). This hammer is heavy and so we need young power for making Mochi! In this event, we ate Mochi just after we made. Mochi is very soft and delicious when it has been just made. We ate with Kinako (powder of soy bean), Anko (red bean paste) and Oroshi (ground radish with soy sauce). I like sweet taste of Kinako and Anko. Oroshi was  also good with Mochi.

Mochi-tsuki of a girl

Mochi-tsuki of a young guy! We need  power for Mochi tsuki. 

New Year's Custom in Japan (Part 1)

Kagami-mochi

Flower at the entrance hall

New year's preparation starts from cleaning the house. Then, we decorate in our house with Kagami-mochi (rice cake) and flower arrangement.  We oftern include Senryo (red fruit plant) and Matsu (pine tree) in the flower arrangement.

Then, the biggest work is cooking Osechi which is new year's meal. For us, three days of new year are holidays. And so, we try not to cook at home for three days. Especially, it is meanigful for housewives, that they can have holidays only this period in a year. However... it is a big work!!
Although it is common to buy the Osechi from the department store or restaurant, my mom and I make Osechi as much as possible because it is a traditional cooking of Japanese cuisine, we think.
Here are some photos of preparation of Osechi.

Kuri-kinton

Namasu

Tazukuri

First one is Kuri-kinton which is chestnut and paste of sweet potato. This means financial good luck because the pronunciation of "Kin" is also for gold and money in Japanese. Namasu is vinegared white radish and carrots. As red and white is celebration color in Japan, this color contrast of Namasu means good luck in general. Tazukuri is small fishes with sweet sauce. It is also called Gomame. This is for wishing a rich harvest of rice.  Actually, sardins were good fertilizer of rice field.

New year's table with Osechi, Ozouni and Otoso

Oseshi foods are put into a box called Oju which is a red lacquered box. Oju consists of three boxes. We call Ichi-no-Ju, Ni-no-Ju and San-no-Ju.  There is a rule of putting foods into these three boxes but my family do not think too much about it. So I put them together without following strict rule. (please refer wikipedia or somewhere else about this rule). New year's meal is not only Osechi but also we have Ozouni or simply Zouni. Zouni is a soup with Mochi (rice cake). This soup and ingredients vary with location and family. Each family has each tradition. For my family, it is a soup of Dashi (soup of fish and seaweed) with chicken, carrots, Shiitake mashrooms and spinach. Yes, my mom put boiled egg for making it colorful! Then, the first thing we put into mouth on new year's day is Otoso.  Otoso is actually Japanese Sake (alcohol) with Toso-san. Toso-san is medical spices.This is for wishing good health.

 

As you see, there are many meanigs of new year's meal. I will tell you another custom for new year's day in a next blog...

For now,

Happy New Year!!

to you.