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October 2007
October 24, 2007
Tori-no-ichi is a festival held at shrines around the
country on Days of the Rooster in November.
Tori-no-ichi for this year is the 11th of November
and the 23rd of November.
Originally a festival of Otori Shrines dedicated to the
god of good fortune and commercial prosperity,
it is now held at other shrines as well. The gradest
Tori-no-ichi is that of the Otori Shrine in Asakusa.
November has two or in some years three Days of the
Rooster called in order the First, Second and Third Rooster.
On these days stalls selling good luck charms fill the
shrine's precincts and the area in front of its gates, and
vendors enegetically hawk their wares.
You will find many bamboo rakes(Kumade),
a mask of a moon-faced woman (Otafuku),
gold coins (Koban), treasure chest (Senryo-bako)
and such, all charms that bring good luck.
This year we have only two Tori-no-ichi.
The saying goes that you have to watch out in
years with three Tori-no-ichi, because there're
lots of fires. Next year we 'll have three.
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October 18, 2007
Chawan=china cup/china bowl, Mushi=steam
Chawan-mushi is a Japanese egg dish.
To make it, put into a deep cup with a lid a bit of
white-fleshed fish, shrimp, chicken, shiitake mushrooms,
ginkgo nuts, lily root, and such, pour in a mixture
of beaten egg and 'dashi' broth, cover and steam.
Mild and plesant tasting, it is a popular item both in
restaurants and at home.
[How to make 'dashi']
Dashi is Japanese style stock.
The basic type is made from Kombu seaweed and
dried bonito flakes. You put the Kombu in water
and remove it from the pot when it boils. Then add
the bonito flakes and when that booils, strain the stock.
Small dried sardines, dried mushrooms and chicken
bones are also used to make stock.
But ordinary housewives don't bother making dashi
every time they cook, so many use granulated or
liquid instant dashi. 'Hondashi' is one of the popular
dashi brand which you can find in any supermarket.
Ingredients for 4 people:
-3 large eggs
-1 chicken fillet (cut in 4 piece)
-4 shiitake mushrooms
-4~8 ginkgo nuts
-4 shrimps
-1 piece of white fish (cut in 4)
-dashi stock 500cc
-1/2 tea spoon of salt
-1 tea spoon of soy sauce
-1 table spoon each of Mirin and cooking sake
1. Prepare 'dashi' (mix with salt, soy sauce, mirin and sake)
(let cool in room temperature)
2. Beat eggs
3. Pour dashi in a mixture of beaten egg
4. Strain 3 through gauze or strainer
5. Put ingredients in a cup
6. Pour 4
7. Place cup (with lid) in a heated steam cooker
8. Steam for about 20 minutes
Voila!
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October 17, 2007
When we drive by Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo
for area tour with clients from overseas,
we are often asked about Japanese funeral.
So this is about typical Japanese funeral style:
Tsuya (a wake) is held the night before the deceased
is buried. Relatives and close friends spend the last night
with the corpse, praying for the soul of the departed.
The body is laid out with head to the north.
A picture of the deceased and heaping bowl of rice
with chopsticks stuck vertically into it are set on an altar.
A buddhist priest offers sutras, and the deceased is
given an honorary Buddhist name.
Black-and-white striped curtains and wreaths
donated by friends and relatives are put up for
the Kokubetsushiki (the final farewell ceremony).
Mourners proceed one by one to the altar, press their
palms together in prayer and burn pinches of incense.
Finally, the nails of the coffin lid are pounded shut with a
stone and it is put into the hearse.
At the crematorium, relatives and friends gather the
cinders of bone with chopsticks and put them in an
urn which is later buried in a tomb.
In parts of the country where it is still customary to bury
the dead uncremated, the body is taken to the cemetery
in a funeral procession.
Usually mourners wear black, and men, black neckties.
Traditionally they bring Okouden (incense money) to the
dead person's home. Returning home after the funeral,
they purify themselves at the entrance with a sprinkling
of salt.
Nowadays the entire funeral is managed by a professional
undertaker. While funerals are generally held at the
home of the deceased, when that is not large enough
they are held at temples or public buildings.
Or, Christians may request a church funeral.
Ancient Japanese ideas of the soul persist, and it is still
believed that the souls of the dead return to the world
each summer at Obon.
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October 12, 2007
In spring we have 'Hanami', and the fall equivalent is
'Momijigari'.
It doesn't involve any special ritual, we just enjoy
the red and yellow maple leaves, have something good
to eat and drink, and wish that autumn didn't have to end.
It's said that even hundreds of years ago, Japanese played
music and danced beneath the crimson trees.
It is not as boisterous as Hanami. It's rather elegant occasion
for quiet enjoyment of the beautiful colors.
Many of the trees in Japan turn color in the fall,
and each district has famous spots for viewing the foliage.
At this season, places such as Nikko (Tochigi Prefecture),
Hakone (Kanagawa Prefecture), and Arashiyama (Kyoto)
are thronged with tourists.
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October 09, 2007
After long, hot, humid summer,
it's getting cooler and cooler everyday. (finally!!)
When it's cold outside, we feel like having a hot food like
hot pot or stew.
If you've been to Seven-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo,
you probably noticed that there is a big cooking pot with
some food in soup near the cashier.
It's called 'Oden'.
Oden is an abbreviation of 'Odengaku'.
'Dengaku' originally meant 'Tofu (soybean curd)'
coated with sweet, salty 'Miso (soybean paste).
The color and shape of Dengaku were thought to resemble a
Dengaku dance costume, hence the food's name.
In the Edo period, this became a stew using miso that
included not only Tofu but other ingredients.
Soy sauce replaced flavoring in the Meiji period.
Popular ingredients are Daikon (Japanese radish),
Tamago (eggs), Kon-nyaku (devil's tongue jelly),
Atsuage (deep-fried bean curd), Konbu (kelp),
Hanpen (fish cake), Ganmodoki (fried bean curd with
vegetables and other ingredients in it),
Chikuwa (fish-paste roll), and so on...
When you see them in a convenience store next time,
why not try some. It's nice to have with
Japanese mustard called 'Karashi'. 
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October 05, 2007
We have national holidays almost every month.
Coming Monday is 'TAIIKU NO HI (Health and Sports Day)'.
Two years after the 1964 Summer Olympics, the first Taiiku no hi
was held on October 10th. (1966)
In 2000, Taiiku no hi was moved to the second Monday
in October as a result of the Happy Monday Seido.
It is a day to promote sports and physical and mental health.
Many schools and companies choose this day to hold their annual
'Undo-kai (Field Day)' or some events.
Have a nice long weekend
To check other national holidays in Japan,
please see our previous blog:
http://blog.realestate-tokyo.com/archives/50340478.html
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