New Year is an important milestone for Japanese people. A popular saying has it that “the whole of a year is contained within New Year’s day”, meaning that New Year’s day is the when the future year should be planned out. And the most notable food for this occasion can be osechi: beautiful boxes, carefully laid out with colourful ingredients, each with its own symbolic meaning.
Where there is family, there is Osechi
New Year’s Day is traditionally considered a day spent with family: relative gather together and share New Year greetings. Naturally, eating and drinking form a large part of the celebrations, and osechi was originally a dish presented to the gods at the turning points of the seasons. But over time, osechi became associated specifically with New Year’s Day because it’s considered to be the most important day in Japan.
The ancestors come down as a God
The god to whom this special cuisine is presented is called Toshigami, literally the god of the year. Since ancient times, Japanese people have considered both their ancestors and nature itself to have religious significance. It was believed that the spirit of the ancestors will become a god, and occupy a place in nature as a god of a mountain or of a field. These gods will continue to watch over their successors, coming down to the village on New Year’s Day in particular to bless the family. Osechi therefore has two functions: to give an offering to the gods, and also to bring happiness to the family.
Passing down the New Year’s customs
Actually, it is not very clear when the New Year's custom such as osechi began. Its origins are unknown, and it is assumed to have existed in one form or another since ancient times. Edo period Ukiyo-e prints show people wearing their finest clothes to celebrate New Year in; many of them seem to echo with the laughter and good cheer attendant to the event. Though the costumes have changed since then, the traditions – such as flying tako kites, playing with hagoita rackets, and decorating kadomatsu bamboo ornaments – have not.
New Year’s Day to-do list
There are differences depending on the region and family, but there are many customs that are essential for the New Year. First of all, you need to clean and then decorate your house with kagami-mochi and kadomatsu ornaments, and shimenawa ropes, necessary preparation to welcome the toshigami. On the night of New Year’s eve, soba should be eaten. As you cross over into the new year, you can observe hatsu-hinode, the first sunrise, and pay hatsu-Moude, the first visit to shrine or temple. There are other firsts to be achieved for the year: kakizome, the first calligraphy, and even hatsu-yume, the first dream. By the time you sit down for New Year dishes together, you can expect to have received nenga-jou, New Year's cards, and otoshidama, New Year's gifts which often consist of money from family. In books published in the Edo period, people are sometimes depicted welcoming lions bringing good fortune on New Year’s day.
Kagami Mochi & Zoni (2019)Original Source: SANSHIN KAKO Co,. Ltd.
Shimenawa Rope and Toso New Year's Sake (2019)Original Source: SANSHIN KAKO Co,. Ltd.
Traditionally osechi can be kept for days, so they can be cooked in advance and spare the need for any cooking on New Year’s day.
Each dish represents a wish
Asides from osechi, ozouni soup with mochi rice balls is commonly prepared for the New Year. These often have significant variation, both from region to region and from family to family. To accompany it is otoso sake, which is believed to repel the evil and prolong life. Every item in an ossechi box has some kind of symbolic meaning; often to bring a good harvest, prosperity, or for the health of the family. The contents are drawn from both the sea and the mountains.
Red and white Kamaboko: a symbol of sunrise
So what kind of things actually exist in a box of osechi? There are four products that can be said to be the basics. The first is kamaboko, fish paste, symbolizing the sunrise. Given that Japan is said to be the land of the rising sun – also represented on the national flag - it is a very important symbol for its people. Also, red and white are an auspicious color combination - red represents celebrations and white represents the sacred. Kamaboko can be delicately cut in the shape of rabbits, peacocks, pine needles or butterflies.
Date-maki: precious things should be rolled
Date-maki is a favorite for people of all ages. It originates from the kastera cake which came from Nagasaki, the port which was set aside for trade with Portugal during the Edo period. In the past, people tend to roll the important documents and made them scrolls, and this is reflected in the number of rolled-up morsels in an osechi box.
Black mame bean: playing with double meanings
Originally mame was a word that meant strong and healthy (and also beans). Osechi has many dishes which play with words and this is one of them. Boiling this food requires close attention so that the lustrous jet-black bean is left intact.
Chestnut kinton: gold is another kind of fortune
Somewhat resembling the treasure from an 8-bit video game, chestnuts, which grow widely in Japan, are representative of the gifts from the mountain. This chestnut dish would have been a delicacy in former times, when sweet items were rare.
Tadukuri: connecting the sea and the mountain
Tadukuri means “making the fields” so named because the small fish are planted in the fields as fertilizer. This is very popular dish throughout Japan.
Konbu seaweed: the essence of Japanese cuisine
Dashi, a broth, is a staple of Japanese food, both consumed directly and used as a flavouring, and konbu is its source. You can eat it by itself as well.
Kazunoko: origin of life
Kazunoko are herring eggs. Because fish eggs produce so many offspring, it is considered a good omen for prosperity. This dish has been used in osechi time immemorial. Above all others, this is the plate which represents the New Year’s.
The heart of celebration has not been changed
Recently, instead of oju box, osechi may be served on plates that give a more modern impression. And it is also a fact that the new year dishes are not made at home as much as before. It is said that the reason is that there is less chance for nuclear families to gather in big party as the family becomes smaller and more fragmented, and that there are more variations of delicious food than in the past, when children would have eagerly anticipated osechi for months. However, simply buying osechi is not frowned upon. It is not unusual for food companies and restaurants to create it not only in a Japanese style but also in French and Chinese styles. Times change, but the sense of celebration and appreciation is handed down over generations.
Cooperation with
Kibun Foods Inc.
SAVOR JAPAN
Photos: Kibun Foods Inc.
Text: Makiko Oji
Edit: Saori Hayashida
Production:Skyrocket Corporation
