Finding Umami in Japan's Five Seasonal Festivals

The Japanese archipelago that stretches north and south is expressive and rich in nature with four seasons. Japan’s culinary culture has been nurtured by blessings bestowed by nature and annual festivals that form Japanese culture. By sharing food, i.e. natural bounty among members of families and communities and time for eating, people have deepened their bonds.

Festive meals that people enjoy during annual festivals are based on food ingredients from the region and dashi soup made with umami of dried bonito, dried kelp, and local specialties, and seasoned with miso (fermented soybean paste) and soy sauce, which are both fermented seasoning filled with umami produced from Japan’s unique rice malt-based fermentation culture. People enjoy festive meals together on celebrative occasions such as the New Year holidays or Gosekku, the five seasonal festivals. Let us introduce Japanese festive meals associated with the five seasonal festivals and umami. 

Jinjitsu means a human day. In ancient China, there was the custom of assigning the days of the new year, starting with January 1, to an animal, and the seventh day, namely, January 7 was a human day. The country had the custom of eating soup with seven kinds of herbs on the day. This led to the Japanese custom of picking young greens filled with life force and in the Heian Period, people came to eat nanakusa gayu (rice porridge with seven herbs).

In Japanese cuisine, while there are so many dishes that take advantage of umami of dashi (Japanese soup stock made from dried fish and seaweed kombu), nanakusa gayu uses no dashi. With nanakusa gayu featuring a gentle and mild taste, it is designed to help ease gastrointestinal fatigue due to New Year’s food. It may be also a good idea to add a little bit of nukazuke (vegetables pickled in salted rice bran), asazuke (lightly pickled vegetables) or salted kelp full of umami on a small plate to give an accent to the porridge’s plain taste. 

Eating kashiwa mochi, which is rice cake wrapped in oak leaf, on Tango no Sekku is believed to be auspicious as old oak leaves don’t fall until the tree bears new leaf buds, meaning family lines are handed down from parents to children without interruption. Chimaki has a long history, which was eaten primarily in the Kansai region while kashiwa mochi originated in the Kanto region in the Edo Period. While for Japanese confectionery, sweetness of jam made of beans, such as azuki (red beans) or white beans, plays a pivotal role in tastiness, kashiwa mochi that contains jam made of light-brown miso (soy bean paste) may justifiably be referred to as one of the typical Japanese confectionery that incorporates slight umami nicely. The period of fermentation of light-brown miso is shorter than that of regular miso, so the amount of glutamate, an umami substance, is smaller than that of other types of miso but it strikes a superb balance with the sweetness of the Japanese sweet. 

Somen (thin wheat noodles) is served for Sasanoha (bamboo grass) no Sekku (Star Festival). Somen is said to have derived from sakubei that came from China in the Nara Period. Saku means a rope and bei, something made by kneading wheat flour. If you eat sakubei on July 7, it will lead to a perfect state of health, auguring well, which turned into somen over time. What is indispensable for cold somen is mentsuyu, noodle soup base. Used for mentsuyu, soy sauce contains glutamine acid and dried bonito is rich in inosinate. The synergetic effect of these two umami substances make “tsuyu” (soup) with strong umami. Tsuyu full of umami helps bring out a superb texture of somen noodle in your throat.

Choyo no Sekku is also known as Kiku (chrysanthemum) no Sekku. Chrysanthemum is believed to be a medicinal flower that promotes a long life and eaten boiled, or petals are put on Japanese sake.  

Choyo no Sekku came from China to the Imperial Court in the Heian Period. In Onmyodo, as odd numbers are supposed to be auspicious, September 9 (the day when the largest odd number nine is repeated (choyo)) was celebrated extravagantly as the day that brings good luck. In the five seasonal festivals, it took longer to take root and ordinary people began celebrating this festival after they were designated as national holidays in the Edo Period.