Osechi: Celebrating and Appreciating New Year

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.