Japanese traditional culture ~11~ shimenawa

Some of Japanese people set the shimenawa near the door in this shougatsu season.

Shimenawa is one of the tool in Shintoism.
I heard that shimenawa has the meaning of protecting from evil or disasters.
It is set we should set the shimenawa until on 28ts December. You should not
set on 29th December. In Japanese, we pronounce 9 "ku". ku reminds people
苦（ku）. 苦 means "pain, suffering".
And you should not set this shimenawa on 31st December. This is called
"Ichiya kazari".
"Ichiya kazari " means one night decolation. This is impolite to God. So,
it is inauspicious.

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Japanese traditional culture ~10~ kagami mochi

  I show you the kagami mochi today.
This is very small kagami mochi.
Kagami means "the mirror". Mochi is Japanese food. This is white and sticky stuff.
Mochi is made by rice.
It is said that this kagami mochi is named because this stuff looks like the mirror of
ancient time. This is a offerings for God of rice.
  Japanese people buy this kagami mochi in this Oshougatsu season.
  I imagine that the rice has been very important food from ancient time in Japan.
The top of kagami mochi must be real mikan. But this kagami mochi is a mikan
made by plastic.

 Thanks for reading!

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Japanese food ~ 23 ~ Osechi ryouri

I introduce what we eat in the Osyougatsu(お正月) season.
(Osyougatsu means "the beginning of the year".)
This is Osechi ryouri.

  Osechi ryouri is very colourful isn't it? And each foods have various tastes, salty foods, sweet foods, spicy foods, and sour foods. Usually, I have not had this osechi ryori in Osyogatsu. But in this year, I bought this osechi because I wanted to show on this blog. This osechi is special dishes.

The osechi I had in this year had 33 kinds of dishes at one box.

  About 10 years ago, we could not buy osechi easily like now because supermarket or

restaurant just did not do such service. Each family needed to make osechi in the house.

It was very hard work. Maybe it was mother and grand mother's work at home.

But I think there are still many families that keep the tradition because they think handmade

dishes are so nice.

  I had a drink (Nihonshu). Japanese people usually do not drink in the daytime. But in Osyogatsu,

it is OK to drink a lot in the daytime. I was drunken from the morning...

  Today, I will go to shrine. This event is called "Hatsumoude". People go to shrine to pray so

we can live healthily in whole year. I will take a lot of photos. 

 

 

Japanese lifestyle ~23~ New year Ekiden

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!
あけましておめでとうございます。
Kotoshimo yoroshikuonegai shimasu.
ことしも　よろしくおねがいします。

This is Japanese greeting. Everyone say when you meet someone at the
beginning of the year.
I like this time. We call the beginning of the year "Osyougatsu"　お正月
I have a lot of things to write about this season. I will write little by little.
Hopefully, I would like to keep writing this blog in this year as well.

1st January, there is big event in my hometown. It is "New year Ekiden".
Ekiden is one of the Japanese sports. It is not known world widely but it is well-known sport in Japan.
Runner of the team run about 12 km~15km. And each runner has to pass a sleeves, called tasuki
to the other runner. Each team has 7 runners so the athletes run about 100km altogether.
Each team compete the time.
Top athletes in Japan join this competition. Runner of London Olympic joined this competition
in this year.  Well known press come to this Gunma prefecture to broadcast this competition every
year.
Fortunately, this event happens near my hometown. I took some photos here.

I thought watching by the road is much funner than watching on TV.



I was so impressed to see runners.

In this season, Japanese people say Houhu of the year.（抱負ほうふ）(houhu)
It means, the aim (or hope) you want to achieve in the year.

I personally started to write some stories at the end of the year.
It was not so long story. But that was what I wanted to do from many years ago.
That was children's story. My "houhu" is to write some stories in this year.

What is your houhu in this year?

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Japanese traditional culture ~9~ Toshikoshi soba

On 31st December, Japanese people eat soba. A lot of people keep this traditional culture.
We call this soba "Toshikoshi soba".
Toshikoshi means "over the year"
Soba is one of the Japanese noodle below. Soba is buckwheat noodles.

  Soba is so long noodle. So, we eat soba, hoping we can live a long life.
When I drove outside the home today, I saw a lot of cars stopping at the
Soba restaurant. Some of you may know udon. Did you know this soba?
  In Japan, you eat soba, making a sound. It is not bad manner.


Japanese people exchange the greeting at the end of the year.
The expression is "Yoi otoshi wo! よいお年を！"
If I translate it, it's "Have a nice year!"

I started to write this blog from October. I could keep writing little by little.
This is because some of people left some comments and shared information about
the person's culture. It was so interesting for me.
Some of people gave me a mail and encourage me.
I really appreciate for these things.
Thank you for reading this blog.
Hopefully, I would like to keep writing next year as well.
Yoi otoshi wo!

Japanese lifestyle ~22~ The salt for purification

  On this column, I introduce the salt for purification, when you get
at the funeral.
  As I wrote here before, Japanese people often give a gift to the other
person. When you go to some one's funeral, you get some gift.
That is a kind of appreciation for coming to the funeral.
  The chief mourner will give you a salt besides the gift.
After the funeral finish, t is said that you should sprinkle the salt to your body when you enter
your own home. It means you purify yourself.
  In Japan,  the salt has a important role in our lifestyle. There are
various salty foods in Japan. In Japan, the salt also has the meaning of
purification.

Can you see お清め塩(O kiyome shio) above? It means "the salt of purification"
kiyome=purification
Shio = salt

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Japanese traditional culture ~8~ Hakoniwa

I introduce what the Hakoniwa is.
Hako = box
niwa = garden
It is a kind of miniature of garden.
A man recreate the Japanese garden or a place of scenic beauty in a box.

 This is my father's work. He used moss. He used parsley as tree. hahaha.
This hakoniwa is small. I guess the expart would make more bigger hakoniwa.
I have watched the photo of castle in hakoniwa.
  I don't know how much this hobby is common in Japan. I heard that this
hobby was very popular at the end of Edo period. It was later than 1850.
I have not seen people who do this hakoniwa as hobby.
 I guess bonsai is more popular in Japan.