Dondoyaki: Festive Decorations Go up In Smoke on Jan. 16th in Tsuchiura
By Avi Landau
In Tsukuba, when we want to get rid of any unneeded or unwanted stuff taking up space in our homes, it’s always necessary to consult the City`s GARBAGE SEPARATION MANUAL, which after much bewildered scrutinization might finally reveal when and where certain materials can be disposed of.
However, there are some items for which even that labyrinthine text gives no clue as to how to deal with. For example, the festive decorations and other sacred objects that Japanese people, as a matter of pure common sense, would never simply throw into the garbage.
What is to be done with last year’s Daruma doll and the New Year’s shimenawa (sacred rope), kado-matsu ( a sort of Japanese Christmas tree in pairs) and other decorations? The Japanese do not need to have this information printed in the Trash Disposal Manual. It is natural for them to take such items to a shrine to be disposed of respectfully, or bring them to a ritual burning ceremony usually called DONDOYAKI ( どんど焼き）in this area (though it is variously called called sagicho- 左儀長, dosojin-yaki, sankuroyaki, onpe, etc. in other parts of Japan).
Traditionally, New Years Decorations and other sacred items have been burned at shrines ( or other set locations) throughout Japan on January 14th or 15th. It has been ( and still is) considered VERY lucky and healthy to eat mochi rice cakes which have been roasted in these fires.
Since it was believed that the gods would descend, attracted to these sacred ropes, bamboos and paper etc., it was at the dondoyaki ceremonies these these spirits were thought to return, along with the smoke, to the heavens.
It is when watching the decorations go up in smoke, warmed by the large bon-fire on what is certainly a very cold January day that the Japanese have the sense that the O-Shogatsu ( New Year`s) period is over.
I have also heard that practicioners of Japanese calligraphy ( shodo), take their first works of the year ( kakizome), and put them into the pyres. If these works ascend high into the sky with the smoke,it is a sign that their skill will RISE this year.
If you have any items (straw, wood or paper) that you would like to dispose of with respect, there will be a big dondoyaki bash held on the Tsukuba-Tsuchiura border, by the Gakuen O-hashi Bridge, on The Tsuchiura Gakuen Road (the same place from which the fireworks are launched at the Hanabi Festival). The event will be held on the 16th and not the 15th, because weekends are more convenient, and will begin at 11am. Mochi will be served to the first 200 people who sign up, and registration begins at 9am ( get there early!).
Don’t put any plastic, ceramic or metal objects in the fire.
See you there! Its quite a spectacle with the huge bonfire and 2oo people roasting rice cake stuck onto the tips of long, bending bamboo poles!
If you would like to read more about DARUMA DOLLS read my article:
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Remembering Sho Nemoto ( 根本正)- the Father of Japan`s Drinking Age Laws ( and free universal education!)- on Coming-of-Age Day
Bust of Sho Nemoto at Daigo Station
By Avi Landau
Over the centuries the Japanese have had various ways of recognizing and celebrating a young persons COMING OF AGE ( I have written about this in detail in a past article: http://blog.alientimes.org/2009/01/tsukubas-coming-of-age-ceremony-seijin-shiki-proceeds-almost-without-incident/ ) , however, since the year 1877 ( Meiji 9 ) the notion of what it means to be an adult was standardized and a UNIVERSAL LEGAL AGE has been set at 20.
In recent years ( beginning back in 1948) there has even been a National Holiday(originally held each year on January 15th, but since the year 2000 on the second Monday of January) on which 20-year-olds are celebrated and encouraged to become good citizens.
Normally this holiday ( SEIJIN NO HI) brings to mind images of young people gathered at the city office in a wide array of finery ( with plenty of beautiful kimonos) and hair-dos.
As for the NEW ADULTS themselves, among all the priviledges of becoming legal, the greatest of which is surely the RIGHT TO VOTE, the one that is clearly adopted with the most enthusiasm is the RIGHT TO DRINK.
It is very interesting to note , however, that the legal drinking ( and smoking ) ages were not set back in 1877 when the current legal age ( of adulthood in general) had been first established. It was not until 1922 that minors were prohibited from consuming alcohol ( for tobacco, restrictions were set in 1900), and this happened only after more than 20 years of legislative battling ( limiting the number of drinkers would reduce the tax revenues need to fund Japan`s military .
That is why each year on the night`s of the Seijin Shiki (the coming of age ceremony), when I encounter festively dressed and raucously drunken groups of new SEIJIN ( adults) celebrating their LEGALITY, I cant help but think of Sho Nemoto ( 根本正, 1851-1933), a son of rural Ibaraki ( our own prefecture) who went on to become one of modern Japan`s most interesting and important ( though now almost completely forgotten) law-makers. It was Nemoto`s 23 years of dogged determination which eventually led to the passing of the Juvenile Alcohol Act in 1922.
Nemoto`s story is fascinating and I have encountered his name and face ( in sculpture) in connection with various themes I have studied in Japan ( education, emigration, the romaji writing system, etc).
Let me give you a very brief profile of the man ( there is VERY little on him available in English) and I will present a more detailed picture of his life and work at a later date.
The Suigun Line Whose Construction Was Promoted By Nemoto
Nemoto was born in what is now Naka City ( in Ibaraki Prefecture) to a family with connections to the Mito Clan. His grandfather, who was his first teacher, had been a village headman and was known for his learning. At the age of 13 the scholastically gifted boy, thanks to family connections, went to study and work ( as a low-ranking retainer of the clan) in Mito with some of that periods great scholars.
At the age of 16, he had a look at some matches and a clock which had been brought back to Japan from the Paris Exhibition ( the original Expo, which many years later ( 1985) was held right here in Tsukuba!) . This was a life changing experience for him. He later wrote: These were clearly made by very intelligent people- the sideways writing people ( Japanese and Chinese were written vertically). I must study this sideways script and I would very much like to visit such a fabulous place (Europe, or the West).
At the age of 20, Nemoto left Mito, which had been devastated by the civil war which had raged between various factions, and he set out for Tokyo with the aim of furthering his studies. He did this without his parents permission and for some time had to support himself by pulling a rickshaw at night.
After improving his English with the help of contact with various foreigners he met while working in the newly created Western style postal system, Nemoto was given the opportunity to go study in the US, and he arrived there in 1879 ( at San Fransisco) and matriculated as a very old ( at almost 30 years of age) elementary school student ( he also completed his junior high school studies in the US, before going on to college).
(It is my opinion that Nemoto`s , the older school boy, was later ued as the model for Oka Sayye, a character in a viciously racist ( by today`s standards ) novel entitled Her Father`s Daughter ( 1921), by the once popular American writer Gene Stratton-Porter. This outrageous tale ends up with Oka, portrayed as an odious threat to the American Way, being pushed off a cliff !)
Nemoto then went on to study at the University of Vermont, after being taken under the wing by Frederick Billings. He graduated in 1889 and returned to Japan ( after travelloing through Europe), and having been encouraged by his American sponsors to try to MAKE A DIFFERENCE back in his home country, he ran for office and eventually served in the National Diet for 25 years ( 1899-1924).
While serving in office, Nemoto had a MAJOR impact on his country. This is evidenced by the legislation which he fought for and eventually had passed as law.
The Juvenile Smoking Law ( no smoking for minors)
The Juvenile Drinking Law ( no drinking alcohol for minors)
The Mandatory Universal Free Education Law ( passed in 1899)
and
The Establishment of the official Hebon Moji Romaji ( latin letter) script.
He also pushed for the construction of the Suigun train line ( which runs from Mito to Daigo),
and encouraged the emigration of Japanese to Brazil (and other South American countries).
Sho Nemoto
I would liketo go into more detail in regard to each of his contribution and to provide anecdotes,from my own experiences in Japan, related to the laws which he helped shape. I promise I will return to the subject of this UNIQUE Japanese politician.
Let me just finish today with this, from Nemoto`s own writings ( after retirement):
We are happy to know that the Emperor of Japan does not take any alcoholic beverages, nor is he a user of tobacco. This was much praised when Count Futaara in an address, stated the reply of the Crown Prince when asked why he did not take wine on his trip to Europe: His Majesty
replied: Wine or sake is useless.
On the same voyage Rear-Admiral Yamamoto asked His Highness who was then Crown Prince, why he did not smoke? His Majesty replied, "Yamamoto, Do you not know The Anti-Smoking law for Minors ?" His Majesty was not then twenty years of age. The Rear-Admiral was mortified and shamed by the instructive answer of the Crown Prince.
Recently His Highness, Prince Chichibu and the Princess made a trip to the North. The Governor of Fukushima Prefecture made careful preparation to entertain His Highness, and among other things sent to Nada, near Kobe, five hundred miles away where the best grapes in Japan are grown, for a supply of wine. But his Highness did not touch a drop of wine of any sort.
His temperate life may be due in part at least, to the influence of his consort who was educated in a Friend's School in the United states.
( Sho Nemoto)
It is not surprising that a man so much under the sway of American ( and Christian) thought, be intentonally forgotten during the years of ultra-nationalism and militarism in the 1930`s. It is sad to find that his name is still all but unknown among the Japanese ( even Ibarakians) today. It was shocking for me to find that even in the Ibaraki Encyclopedia, the reading of his name is given incorrectly ( it calls him Nemoto Tadashi).
I think it about time that this man`s reputation be REHABILLITATED and his proper place in Japanese history ( as the law-maker who introduced free universal education) be restored and proclaimed to all.
Happy Coming Of Age Day
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Negi 葱 ( welsh onions)- Keeping Tsukuba`s fields Green and fragrant through the winter
- Negi in Konda, Tsukuba 2010
Snow rarely falls anymore in Tsukuba ( or anywhere else on the Kanto Plain), and instead of traditional, white winterscapes we have, besides the abundant roadside sazanqua in bloom, and the bright citrus fruit hanging out over the walls of Tsukuba`s big old houses, a rural scenery of mostly dull browns and straw color. Just about the only healthy GREEN we do have in our abundant fields in this season is created by rows of NEGI ( 葱), which till recently , I have referrred to as leeks, but have discovered should more correctly be called welsh onions.
Tsukuba`s straw-colored winters
In my neighborhood there are numerous negi fields, and when the wind is blowing in a certain direction it carries their delicately pungent smell to my door. This distinctive fragrance is a constant companion on brisk winter dogs-walks.
Negi field in Ninomiya, Tsukuba 2010
Besides its use in NABE and SUKIYAKI, NEGI plays a key supporting role in general everyday Japanese cuisine. Raw and diced, it is the usual condiment for soba ( buckwheat noodles), hiyayako ( blocks of chilled tofu) and natto ( fermented soy beans), and it is also usually put into miso soup. One of the more popular types of yakitori ( grilled chicken), called NEGIMA, features bits of negi skewered between each piece of chicken.
Negi might just be too COMMONPLACE to usually be given any serious thought, but while I walk my dog, basking in their aroma, I cant help but contemplate the mystery how and why bits of culture are tranferred from place to place and then thrive in some locales and fail in others.
Negi, like its relatives garlic, onions and Chinese chives ( nira), was first cultivated in central Asia ( in negi`s case in what is now China- the welsh of the English name welsh onion does not refer to wales. It is a prefix meaning foreign- as in foreign onion). It was introduced to Japan sometime in the 5th century and soon became an important crop.
The interesting question is- why did negi become the favored AROMATIC vegetable for cooking in Japan (as oppossed to garlic and nira), while in China the stronger garlic and chives , as well as the milder negi , are all of equal importance in cooking. Korea, is of course also famous for eating garlic. What was it, a general aesthetic sensibility, which lead to this difference in eating habits? ( the same interesting question is raised by chili peppers- first introduced to Japan by the Spanish ( from Mexico), they were then carried to Korea by Hideyoshi`s invading armies ( in the 16th Century). The chili pepper went on to be a major component of Korean cuisine, while in japan it was hardly used at all.
Another question that come to mind is why onions ( tamanegi), which were originally cultivated in central Asia ( west of China) spread very long ago to the west, travelling to and taking strong root in the Middle East and Europe, while it did NOT spread ( until modern times) eastward, to East and South-East Asia?
As with other vegetables long cultivated in Japan, many varieties have developed over the years. In fact, Western Japanese ( Kansai) cooking, which is usually more mildly flavored, traditionally requires a type of negi called a HANEGI ( 葉ネギ), of which the KUJO ( 九条)is a common variety. In Kanto style cooking ( like that around this area), a type of stronger flavored negi called a NEFUKA NEGI ( 根深ネギ) is commonly used, with the varieties SENJU NEGI and SHIMONITA NEGI being popular. For a comparison look at the photos at this site: http://vegetable.alic.go.jp/panfu/negi/negi.htm
with the Senju negi on the left and the Kansai style Kujo negi on the right.
The Japanese ( and other Asians) have long recognized negi`s health promoting powers and this veggie does in fact contain good doses of carotene, vitamins c and k, calcium and allicin.
A green patch of negi in Tsukuba`s winter fields
The fact that negi has a strong smell has also been significant to its importance in Japan. This is because, strong smelling foods were believed to drive away eveli forces and disease. That is why you will find, if you speak to many of Tsukuba`s older residents, that when they were young and felt they were coming down with a cold, their mothers not only put lots of extra negi in their miso soup, but also tied some grilled negi in a pouch around their necks!
Dont let the cold. colorless landscape get you down. Keeps your eyes ( and noses) open for Tsukuba`s most important winter crop- NEGI- in the fields and on your plate!.
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The Seven Herbs Of Spring (七草) In Rice Porridge On Jan. 7th ( revisited)
Just when you thought we were through with all the traditional dishes. Just when you’ve decided that you’ve had more than enough of the soba, the O-zoni, and the O-sechi of O-shogatsu. Just when you find yourself daydreaming about dining at one of Tsukuba’s fine Italian, or French, or Chinese, or Korean restaurants which will be reopening after the long holiday. Just THEN, you realize that tomorrow is January 7th, time to eat the very traditional NANA KUSA GAYU 七草粥 (porridge with the seven herbs of spring) and head off to the supermarket to get ready.
The ancient Chinese believed that the first vegetables and herbs to sprout in the cold of late winter possessed strong doses of LIFE ENERGY, which could be transferred to humans if ingested. The 7th day of the first month (which is actually in February according to the old calendar) was the day on which the results of the official government examinations were announced in China. It was the custom for those waiting for their results to get up early in the morning and eat young herbs. They believed the energy obtained from these plants would help them to RISE UP IN THE WORLD. The reason the exams were announced on that day (the 7th), is that it was one the five important seasonal markers (sekku). This sekku was called Jinjitsu (人日), the day for divining a man’s future.
Young girls gathering herbs
This custom was adopted, along with so many other things Chinese, by the aristocrats of the Heian Court (794-1185), though they changed the date to the 15th. They would gather young plants and put them into a soup (the actual herbs have varied over time and place). In the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) instead of soup, the herbs were cooked in a rice porridge. The date was also changed back to the original Chinese one, the 7th. During the Edo Period (1600-1868), the shogunate recognized and promoted the traditional Chinese sekku, and the custom of eating porridge containing the seven herbs of spring filtered down to the general public. Of course, after the calendar was westernized, in 1873, the porridge came to be eaten on January 7th (which is now the 7th day of the first month).
It was traditional for the herbs to be picked on the 6th, and prepared on the evening of that day. There was a special song to be chanted while doing this. Translated, it goes something like “BEFORE THE BIRDS OF TANG CHINA FLY OVER JAPAN , WE PREPARE THE SEVEN HERBS”. This was done making as much noise as possible on the cutting board (to ritually chase away birds which damage crops).
It was also believed that the porridge soothed the stomach after all the eating and drinking of O-shogatsu, and got the people to eat their greens in a season when, before refrigeration, vegetables were a rarity.
Here are the herbs and their traditional benefits: Gogyo, good for urination; nazuna, good for tired eyes; seri, plenty of vitamins; suzushiro (radish flower), good for sore throats; suzuna, plenty of vitamins; otokenoza, a pain killer; and hakobera, good for the teeth! I’m really not sure what these plant names are in English, but it looks like I’ve got a radish and a turnip among my herbs.
Any supermarket will have nanakusagayu packs available. Their is a large variety, some containing fresh herbs and vegetables and others freeze dried. I recommend Seibu department store’s supermarket for the finest selection in Tsukuba.
If you need help just ask a clerk for a NANAGUSA GAYU PAKU.
The porridge should be eaten tomorrow morning! Have fun and bon appetit!
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O-Sechi (御節)- A Deeper Look at Japan`s Traditional New Year`s Dishes
In my previous article about O-Shogatsu ( お正月) the Japanese New Year Festival, I mentioned that I would like to write more about Osechi (御節), the variety of special, slow to spoil and symbolically significant dishes, packed into a box or set of stacked boxes, which are eaten over the 3-day New Year`s holiday period. I instead added a link to a site online ( wikipedia) which I said would provide adequate information in English. Later , I re-read the article that I had recommended and found it unsatisfying in terms of what I would have wanted to communicate about this most important ( along with O-Mochi- pounded rice cakes) of all Japanese festive foods . So now, after my own Osechi boxes have already been picked clean, I will try to give a fuller picture of this important custom which is so revealing in terms of traditional Japanese culture in general.
First let`s look at the origin of the term Osechi ( 御節), which an abbreviation of Osechiku (御節供), literally meaning Offerings for Days of Seasonal Change. Traditionally, besides New Year`s, five special seasonal change days (originally brought over from China) were celebrated in Japan. These are all linked to the fact that according to Chinese thought, ODD NUMBERS are auspicious. Thus we have:
O-shogatsu ( the New Year) on the first day of the first month ( 1/1)
Jinjitsu no Sekku ( 人日の節句) on the seventh day of the first month (1/7)
Joshi no Sekku ( 上巳の節句 ) on the third day of the third month ( 3/3)
Tango no Sekku ( 端午の節句) on the fifth day of the fifth month (5/5)
Shichiseki (七夕) on the seventh day of the seventh month (7/7)
and Choyo no Sekku (重陽の節句) on the 9th day of the ninth month
on which special foods were given as offerings to the gods. These Sechiku (offerings) were later eaten by the family or group that presented them.
Since the first day of the first month was, and still is, the most important of these seasonal change days, the term Osechi is now used ONLY to refer to the special dishes of New Year`s.
(the other seasonal change days ( sekku) are still recognized in Japan to varying degrees and have their OWN special dishes which have evolved over the generations. The fifth day of the fifth month is even a national holiday ( Childrens Day), while 3/3 is the popular Doll Festival ( Hina Matsuri) and 7/7 , the Tanabata star Festival. Interestingly, 9/9, the most important of the sekku for the ancient Chinese, besides New Years Day ( because nine is the largest ODD number), did not become truly popular in Japan because in the Japanese language the pronounciation of the number nine -KU-can also mean to suffer.)
Each of the separate dishes which make up what is now called Osechi ( and there can be dozens) are meant to symbolically represent ( through similarities of sound or shape etc) a good harvest, long healthy life, the success of ones descendants and conjure up other positive, auspicious images for the future.
Osechi dishes also usually include representative foods from the mountain and foods from the sea, as well as foods which are cooked in various styles( grilling,boiling, etc.), and different tastes ( sweet, sour, salty).
As with Japanese cooking in general, they also show deep consideration for healthfulness with a good balance of vegetables and protein.
The other characteristic of Osechi dishes, is that they must keep for at least three days and can be eaten as they are, that is, without heating up- because over the New Year`s holiday there was NO cooking, traditionally.
Of course, there are variations in, how many, and what dishes comprise the Osechi from family to family , so it goes without saying that their can be great regional variation.
GOMAME
In the Kanto Area ( around Tokyo), there are 3 dishes which are considered essential ( iwai sakana sanshu- 祝い肴三種), which are- GOMAME ( boiled and dried sardines, also called TAZUKURI), KUROMAME (黒豆)- boiled black beans, and KAZU NO KO ( 数の子)- herring eggs.
Kazu no ko ( herring roe)
In Kansai ( around Kyoto and Osaka), the GOMAME, while probably included somewhere in the Osechi, in not considered to be one of the essential three. Instead there is TATAKI GOBO (burdock root boiled in Soy sauce) which is considered a MUST ( the other two are the same).
Traditionally these dishes are packed into a set of stacked laquered boxes, four tiers high ( though now 2 or three tiers is the norm and these are often of cheaper material). This makes for convenient serving.
Besides this utilitarian aspect, all the dishes, with their celebratory colors, packed into these small boxes makes a feast for the eyes ( some would say that it is more beautiful than delicious!) and is also symbolic of how the millions of residents of this mountainous island nation have lived cramped together, yet in harmony.
kuromame
As I mentioned before there is no ONE set way of packing or stacking these boxes but here is a typical way:
The first tier ( ICHI NO JU 一の重) would have the essentials- the KUROMAME ( representing HARD WORK, DILIGENCE and health- because MAME means beans, diligence , energy and health. Their black color bearing the power to drive away bad energies), the Kazu no ko ( herring roe) which represents many descendants ( there are made up of countless eggs) and health of parents ( NISHIN, herring, is a homophone for NISHIN 二親- two parents), and the GOMAME fish, which represent a good harvest ( sardines would traditionally be used to fertilize the rice fields).
The second tier ( NI NO JU 二の重), contains grilled foods and seas foods- yellowtail (BURI- which represents promotion, as this fish has different names in its different growth stages), shrimp ( whose bent back represents achieving old age), Sea bream ( TAI, which for the Japanese conjures up images of omedeTAI- celebration, etc...
The third tier ( SAN NO JU 三の重) contained vinegared dishes
and the fourth tier ( YO NO JU 与の重, please note that the character here 与 is not the standard character for the number 4 ( 四), which could also be read SHI (death), and is thus avoid. This might also be the reason that four tiers are no longer popular) contained boiled dishes including KONBUMAKI ( kelp) which represents happiness ( because the sound of KONBU is similar to that of yoroKOBU- to be glad) and lotus root, whose holes, which can be peered through, represent the looking toward the future, etc...
As I said, the above does NOT represent the rule and will find variations of this arrangement.
(And there are many more dishes that I have not mentioned yet. I will add to this list little by little and promise a more comprehensive list by next O-Shogatsu)
In Japan today many people order their osechi ( each tier costs at least 5,000 Yen and the price can go much higher than that), but many houswives make some of the dishes themselves even if they do order a set.
Each of the dishes can also be bought separately at department stores just before O-shogatsu.
Its fun to sit around the house for three days, noshing now and then out of the osechi trays ( with plenty of SAKE, of course!), enjoying not only the taste and beautiful presentation of the food but also each little tidbit`s symbolic significance.
Have a great year!
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