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Toppage ＞ Shudo - The Way of Sake＞ chapter6 |
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| Kusudama, also called Sakabayashi, is a sphere of tightly bound young leaves of Japanese cedar trees, where a deity of sake is believed to exist.Casks containing newly pressed sake are placed under the ball. |
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Spring, When Water in Streams Gets Warmer |
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April is called Uzuki, a short form for U-no-hana-zuki, which means that it is a time when
the flowers of Utsugi, or deutzia crenata, blossom.The name of the month appears in Japan’s oldest
written histories, Kojiki and Nihon-shoki, as well as the oldest collection of Japanese poetry,
Many?sh?.The Chinese character U is also used in the Chinese zodiac as the fourth sign of the hare.
April fourth is called Seimei in the traditional Japanese division of the year into 24 small seasons.
This is the time of year when everything is getting fresh.
Come spring, water in streams becomes warmer and plants sprout.Daytime temperatures often rise to be slightly
sweaty, but they drop to lows in mornings and nights.
Weather changes drastically day after day, often bringing back chilly days called Kan-no-modori.High and
low pressure systems take turns and move over the Japanese archipelago during the month, sometimes causing a storm
and help cherry blossoms fall faster than they should. |
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Hanami-zake, Sake for cherry blossom viewing |
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Fresh sake is also pressed in April following March, calling for our attention.New sake is
regarded as a youth in various types of sake.As it is young, its texture is not yet solid.This, in a
sense, is the vitality of fresh sake.The best way to appreciate sake at this time of year is to
accept the vitality as it is.
Cherry blossom viewing cannot happen without cups of sake.Drinking parties, sitting under cherry
blossoms in circles, are a typical landscape of this season, but singing-out-loud sprees and getting dead drunk
should both be avoided.
Cherry blossom viewing is believed to have originated as a custom of farmers who completed rice planting and
gathered to pray for good harvests of the year under the blossoms.They would have never lost control after
drinking sake.
The taste of fresh brew should be enjoyed in a relaxed mood amid falling petals of the blossoms, while guessing
over what kind of rice the sake was made from, how much the rice is polished or what kind of ferment is
used. |
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Plates that Serve Appetizers Should Also be Enjoyed |
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In the Kaiseki course of cuisine, several types of appetizers, each one mouthful served on a plate, follow
Sakizuke dish.These appetizers are to accent the following dishes and meant to make the meal and drinking
more gorgeous.
These appetizers are tend to be served on plates of the host’s choice, small Hassun plates or other ones of
elaborate designs, for example.Let the beauty of the earthenware delight our eyes as the flavors do our
palates. |
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Venting Stress and Sake
Go drinking at bars to vent work-related stress in order not to bring the stress home, is what every
Japanese worker does.
Experiments show, however, that those uncomfortable memories during at work only temporarily disappear
while the person is drinking and they can never be got rid of completely.That is, drinking to that goal
is just a waste of time and money.A wise way to forget uncomfortable memories, it seems, is not to think
about them and just drink cheerfully. |
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Tai Sea bream |
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Schools of Sakuradai, a type of sea bream, gather to the Seto Inland Sea at this time of year to spawn.
Ancient documents say “warriors are the best type of humans; Hinoki, or Japanese cypress, is best for
pillars, and sea bream is the best of all fishes.”The fish is also regarded as one of the three most valuable
food.Among the 130 varieties of sea bream, Madai (pagrus major) is considered as most beautiful.The fish,
coming from outer oceans to the Seto Inland Sea for spawning from March to May, turns bright pink and so it is called
Sakuradai or Hanamidai.It also tastes superb as that of the most kingly fish.
In the Kansai region, western Japan, otsukuri, the word for sliced raw fish, is a synonym to that of
sea bream.Excellent dishes of the fish includes shioyaki broiled meat, ushio or broth with the
fish and kabuto-yaki and kabuto-ni, or broiled or simmered head of the fish.A gourmet would say
the flesh around the fish’ eyes is treasured as one of the three prime delicacies.
Ancient document Engi-shiki says the name tai came from the shape of the fish, which is flat.
Sea bream is said to be tasty all around the year but there are some differences in taste according to the places
they are caught or seasons. |
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Hamaguri and Asari Clams |
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Spring tides come in late April, or around March third according to Japan’s Lunar Calendar.It is a good time
for clam gathering on beaches as ebb tide lasts longer during the day.
Hamaguri (hard clams) and Asari (short-necked clams) are the major harvests of such
gatherings.Any clams become tastier than in any other seasons in spring, as their meat thickens at this time of
the year.A shell of hamaguri will never fit with a shell from another hamaguri, so that the
clam is an indispensable accompaniment to the Girls Festival on March third as a thing that symbol of a woman’s
fidelity to her husband.Many snow-bound regions fete the festival on the Lunar Calendar even these days, which
means that the day comes in late spring, so the best hamaguri clams are available.
Clams contain succinic acid, arginine and glutamic acid, all of which give a different flavor from fish or meat.The
guts of the clams are highly digestible and rich in minerals and vitamins, which means that they are excellent as
food accompanying sake.Hamaguri and asari clams are good to be broiled and used in broth.
Asari simmered with Welsh onion and miso bean paste also makes an excellent accompaniment to sake. |
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Awabi Abalone |
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Many believe that fresh abalones are available throughout the year, but catching of the mollusk is banned
during winter, with the ban lifted in April.It becomes most tasty from spring to summer, before it spawns in late
autumn.Green abalones are often believed to be male and brown ones female, but this is a misunderstanding.Male
and female abalones cannot be distinguished from their looks, except for male genitals turning light brown and
female genitals deep green at the time toward spawning.
Abalones are good for sashimi and sushi.Another excellent way to prepare the delicacy is to
rub the fresh meat of abalones with salt to remove slime, then chop them into pieces and float them on icy water.
The dish, called mizu-gai, is an excellent accompaniment to sake.
The guts can be served fresh with nihai-zu vinegar, or be boiled and served with kimi-zu, or
mayonnaise Japanese style.Chinese love the guts believing they are good for the eyes. |
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Bamboo shoot |
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The Chinese character for the bamboo shoot means a shoot that is within 10 days from sprouting.It tells how
fast bamboo grows, that the shoot becomes a hard stem beyond that time frame.Bamboo shoots right after being dug
out has a soft texture and is free of usual bitterness, so it can be served raw.This used to be only available in
areas close to the production sites, but various home delivery services now allows fresh bamboo shoots to be
delivered even to far away in a shorter time.One should boil the shoots as soon as they arrived to have a better
taste of them.
When choosing one at a greengrocer’s, choose a fresh, green and thick one with narrow joints.It should be
boiled in a large pot with red pepper and rice bran in it.Then leave it inside the pot until the whole pot cools
down.
Kinome-ae, or boiled bamboo shoots with miso bean paste and pepper leaf buds, and bamboo shoots
simmered with butterbur, will make the best seasonal accompaniments to sake. |
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| Translated by Kumiko Miyahara |
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