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Chapter 10
In the traditional lunar calendar, August first us “the day of trust” Offerings at the alter
set up in households of farmers include a small bale of rice. They are offered to pray for
a bountiful rice crop. |
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August, in the traditional lunar calendar, would be
present day September, when autumn would have
already set in. Traditionally August was described as the
“month the leaves fall”, or the “month the first geese
arrive”. But August now is brutally hot, without a sign of
a breeze, let alone autumnal wind.
Typically, however, the weather becomes more
stable compared to the month before, and there is less
humidity. Temperatures will be high, with little signs of
change in the weather chart. But come Risshu (around
August eighth) - the first day of autumn by the lunar
calendar - it begins to feel somewhat cool in the mornings
and evenings. The summer cumulonimbus clouds
are replaced by high-level cirrocumulus, signaling that
autumn is right around the corner. |
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The Urabon’e Buddhist ceremony for the repose of
the dead falls on the thirteenth day of the seventh
month in Tokyo, and ends on the sixteenth. On early
evening on July 13th, the Tokyo-ites greet the spirits of
their ancestors, and light a bonfire send off their spirits.
Most rural areas, however, follow the month-late lunar
calendar, and practice the rites one month later. Some
places in Mie, western Japan, observe the tradition on
August 1st, because they were too busy raising
silkworms when the silk industry was booming a century
ago.
Kusaichi leaf fairs, which specialized in selling offerings
to ancestors, open on the night before the bon
ritual and close the next morning. Offerings include
ogara hempsticks, used to light bonfires to greet or send
off the sprits, horses and oxen made from cucumbers
and eggplants, paper lanterns and flowers. These are
used to create an altar to greet one’s ancestors.
Place fresh bamboo logs in four corners, and bind
with rope to create an altar. Embellish the altar with
leaves and flowers, including pine, and set the ancestral
tablet. The best sake should be offered to one’s
ancestors, who may have had a fondness in the liquor.
The descendents should drink sake with the spirits of
their ancestors, and thank them for bringing them into
this world, while praying for family prosperity.
If possible, the sake should be offered in inokuchi
sake cups and such used by one’s ancestors. It would
be nice for the descendents to drink from these cups,
too. One may be pleasantly surprised to learn that
these cups serve a worthwhile purpose. |
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Nagoshi no sake (Sake for summer purification ritual)
Shrines across Japan perform, on June 30th in the
lunar calendar, Nagoshi no Oharai, a purification ritual
to atone for their sin in the first half of the year to pass
the summer safely. Nagoshi, which, in Chinese characters,
is written “summer passing”, literally means to pray
to pass the brutally hot summer without much ado. It’s
believed that this ritual came to be after ancient Japanese
believed the hot temperatures at this time of year
to be a sign of anger expressed by the deities.
At the same time, the word Nagoshi, can also mean
to ease. The expression may also be a play on words,
because it can also mean to defuse the anger of the
deities.
Worshippers pass through a large ring made of
cogon grass, erected on the pathway leading to the
shrine, to purify themselves from misdeeds. It would be a
good idea to pass through such a ring to avoid running
into trouble, when visiting shrines to worship one’s
ancestral spirits.
Please have a taste of mellow tasting Nagoshi no
sake (sake for summer purification ritual) in a gathering
following the observance.t when served in fresh-cut
green bamboo cup. Cold sake served in plain, square
wooden container (masu) is just as good. When serving
sake in a masu, make sure the strait-grain of the wood is
not pointed toward the guest. It is a breach of
etiquette, because the act is regarded an equivalent
to pointing the tip of knife toward the guest.
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A simmered dish, specially called takiawase during a
course of kaiseki cuisine, is usually served in a flat bowl,
with a lid. One should hold firmly the rim of the bowl
with his/her thumb and index fingers on the left hand,
and lift the lid with his/her right hand. The lid should
then be held vertically near the right rim of the bowl so
the vapor on the back of the lid falls inside the bowl.
The lid should then be placed farther right, with the
back of the lid facing up.
It would be natural to want to indulge into feasting
immediately, but one should wait a while. One should
appreciate the scenery inside the bowl, by examining
how the food is arranged. The takiawase dish should
include foods with either vegetable of animal protein
from the oceans, mountains and local hills. The foods
tend to have lighter tastes, and should be served in
odd numbers - three, five and seven.
It is the custom to take turns sipping sake and having
a bite of this dish, while taking short breaks. Some of the
simmered foods are strongly flavored, and others less
so. These foods should also be enjoyed in turns.
Also, the bowl should be lifted near the mouth, as
some of the liquid use to simmer the foods may remain,
and fall.
Is the dish finished? Nothing should remain in the
bowl. The lid should be placed back. There are some
people who place the lid somewhat sideways to indicate
that the dish has been touched, but there is no
need to do so.
The chef should have finished preparing the rice
dish. Sake should not be drunk over long periods. The
foods should be eaten somewhat promptly to show
one’s regards to the chef. |
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Aori-ika (big-fin reef squid)
The best squid species to be enjoyed during the
summer season. It’s a kind of arrow squid, known for its
wide fin. The wide fin looks much like aori, a mudflap,
hence the name, aori-ika (squid).
The squid grows to be about 50 to 60 centimeters.
Because the body is thick and rather chewy, they can
be best enjoyed as a sashimi dish, after simmered
slightly in boiling hot water after the surface of the
body is lightly slit in a dappled pattern. |
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Kanpachi (Greater Amberjack)
The fish is a member of the horse mackerel family,
but looks and tastes more like yellowtail and striped
jack.
Though it has a light taste, they become tasty
around August. It’s best eaten in raw slices, but can be
enjoyed also grilled with salt, basted with teriyaki
sauce, or steamed with sake.
The fish is known to have a pattern which looks like
the Chinese character, eight (hachi), on its foreheadhence
the name kanpachi (literally, “eight in the
middle”). |
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Kohada (Gizzard Shad)
An indispensable ingredient to Edo-style sushi. A
recent trend in sushi bars is to prize the young gizzard
shad measuring about five centimeters. But the ones
that have grown to about ten to 15 centimeters
between the summer and early fall taste better.
The flavor could be better enjoyed with pickled
ginger slices, than soy sauce, when the dish is served to
accompany sake. |
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Translated by Fumiko Konoye |
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