2024-01-06 20:00:00
2024/01/07 05:00 Weather News
Today, January 7th (Sunday), is known as the day to eat Nanakusa porridge containing seven spring herbs. What is the history and origin of Nanakusa porridge, and what kind of effects does it have? It is said that there are regions that use ingredients other than the seven spring herbs, and there are also regions that do not eat Nanakusa porridge, but where are these?
We asked Tomoko Kitano, representative of the Saijiki x Food Culture Research Institute, to talk regarding Nanakusa Gayu.
Did Nanakusa porridge originate from the Heian period?
What is the history and origin of Nanakusa Gayu?
“The seventh day of the New Year is one of the five seasonal festivals, and is the first festival of the new year, the Jinjitsu no Sekku.
Traditionally in China, the first day of January is “Chicken Day”, the second day is “Dog Day”, the third day is “Pig Day”, and the fourth day is “Sheep Day”. The fifth day was designated as “Ox Day,” and the sixth day was designated as “Uma Day,” and livestock were not killed on each day.
The 7th was “People’s Day,” and it is said that it was a day to exorcise evil spirits, even though criminals were not punished.
Also, in the Chinese “Jing Chu Saijiki,” it states, “The seventh day of the New Year is designated as a human day. It is said that there was a custom of eating soup made from seven types of vegetables to pray for good health.
In these Chinese customs, on the 15th day of the new year, the imperial court eats seven kinds of porridge (nanaku sayayu), which is made with seven kinds of rice, barley, wheat, millet, millet, soybeans, and red beans. It is said that the congee ceremony and the custom of picking young greens, which was held on the first child’s day of the new year, merged into the Nanakusa Gayu event.
Nanakusa porridge is said to have originated in the early Heian period, when Emperor Uda first offered porridge containing seven kinds of young greens to the gods, praying for good health.
It is said that during the Edo period, the celebration of the shogun eating seven-herb porridge on the seventh day of the New Year became established, and it spread to the common people as well.” (Kitano)
Effects of Nanakusa porridge
What kind of effects does Nanakusa porridge have?
“Nanakusa porridge made with seven spring herbs such as seri, nazuna, gogyo, hakobera, hotokenoza, suzuna (turnip), and radish is considered to be gentle on the stomach following eating too much or tired from New Year’s feasts. However, it is said that this is a far-fetched interpretation of later generations, and that there is a long history behind it.
It is said that Nanakusa originated from the belief that as we welcome the new year, we will receive the sprouts of nature and gain vitality.
In addition, our ancestors prayed for good health, including “Seri stops the blood, nourishes the spirit, and increases energy,” and “Nazuna benefits the five organs, illuminates the eyes, and benefits the stomach,” as well as the effects of each of the seven herbs. This is because it has been said that there is. Furthermore, there was probably a desire to absorb the breath of fresh young greens into the body during the winter when green vegetables were scarce.
It is the 72nd month of the lunar calendar, and from January 6th to 10th (2024) is the season of “Serino Sakao”. This is the time when swarms of crayfish begin to grow on the edge of the cold stream. The fresh appearance and scent of the chrysanthemums made them feel alive, and they probably wanted to tap into that vitality.” (Kitano)
Are there any regions that use ingredients other than spring herbs?
It is said that there are some regions where there are differences in the types of seven herbs.
“For example, in Fukuoka Prefecture, it is called “nanakusa soup” or “nanakusa zosui,” and it is made with seven kinds of vegetables, including Japanese parsley and nazuna. It seems that seven types of komatsuna are selected and added to the dish.
Are there some regions where people don’t eat Nanakusa porridge?
“According to “Fuzoku Questionnaire” (1814[Bunka 11]), there are many regions where seven-herb porridge is not made, and even in places where it is made, like Echigo-Nagaoka, “If you live in a country with deep snow, you won’t even have seven kinds of greens. There is also a region called “Afuhin Mote Celebration Hi Samurai Nu”.
Just as seven types of vegetables were not available in Niigata Prefecture, seven herbs might not be harvested in the cold Tohoku prefectures and Hokkaido due to snow, so perhaps there was no custom of eating seven herbs porridge.
Nowadays, thanks to the development of distribution, products such as “Spring Nanakusa Pack” are being delivered all over Japan, and I think more and more regions will be eating Nanakusa porridge.” (Kitano)
If you can get Nanakusa at your local supermarket, why not try this historic custom?
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References
“Sanseido Annual Events Encyclopedia” (edited by Nobuichi Tanaka and Noboru Miyata/Sanseido), “Japanese Cuisine Culture Booklet 2 Annual Events and Customs of Japanese Cuisine Registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage” (written by Yoichiro Nakamura, supervised by the National Council for Japanese Cuisine Culture) / Shibunkaku Publishing), “Food Culture of Celebrations” (Sachiko Matsushita/Tokyo Bijutsu Sensho), “Japanese Events and Food Customs” (Supervised by Naoki Shintani/Seishun Publishing)
Reference materials etc.
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