Eating Osechi-Ryori during the New Years in Japan

With the holidays in full swing, there’s no better time to talk about foods you only see at this time of the year than now. Christmas is more of a western holiday and the Japanese tend to let it pass without much thought aside from their ‘traditional’ KFC and Christmas cake dinner; yes, this is what the Japanese think Christmas dinner consists of. However, one thing the Japanese population don’t skimp on is New Years!

For the average salaryman, they tend to start their winter holidays on December 30th and go back to work on January 5th. This gives the average household enough time to return to their hometown to visit family and their local temple or shrine at the start of the New Year. You’ll find all stores open on Christmas day, but the city is dead come New Years Day as nothing is open. By western standards this is a short winter vacation, isn’t it? But that’s how things roll here in Japan.

Just like in all other countries, shops tend to close for the New Year holiday — in most cases just on January 1st. But in smaller towns, stores can be closed for a longer period of time than in the big cities. This causes a problem when it comes to groceries. Japanese homes are fairly small by western standards, and the furniture tends to compliment the size of the home. This means that the household fridge is particularly miniature, about the size for a college dorm room! This also means that Japanese people go grocery shopping everyday!

With that in mind, many Japanese families tend to buy something they call osechi-ryori. This is the traditional New Year food here in Japan. First introduced during the Heinan Period, osechi-ryori is basically a bento (boxed lunch) prepared in advanced, stored in a cool place and reheated when it is to be eaten during the first three days if the new year. Nowadays, the typical Japanese housewife will purchase these osechi-ryori from a depachkia (the department store basements – I will explain this further down) up to one or two months in advance depending on how elaborate the food is in the bento. An osechi can set you back anywhere from ¥4,000 ($40) to ¥100,000 ($1,000). The reason why families go out and purchase these osechi is because it is considered a taboo to cook in the New Year.

Osechi-ryori is comprised of many different types of Japanese food with specific meanings to each dish – prosperity, health and good fortune. Along with the symbolic meaning to each component is the presentation. For the Japanese, presentation is very important. This is especially so with the new years osechi, where color and shape require special attention in regards to presentation. Some common components you will find in osechi are:

• daidai – a Japanese bitter orange which symbolizes wishes for kids;
• datemaki – sweet rolled omlette mixed with fish paste which symbolizes wishes for many auspicious days;
• kamaboko – brolied fish paste, colored red and white, sliced and placed in a pattern which symbolizes the Japanese rising sun;
• kazunoko – herring roe which is symbolic in that you will be gifted with many children in the New Year;
• konbu – a type of seaweed that represents joy;
• tai – red sea-bream which is symbolic for auspicious events;
• tazukuri - dried sardines cooked in soy sauce which represents an abundant harvest.

There are many other different types of food offered in an osechi that I have not listed here.

As I mentioned above, many households would purchase their osechi-ryori from a depachika. Depachika literally translates to “department store basement food stalls.” This means that in most department stores in Japan, in the basement, you will find either one or two floors of just food shopping. Usually one floor is an actual grocery store (prices for items are higher here and you can sometimes find some international foods and ingredients), while the other floor is comprised of many small food stalls. These stalls can sell anything from cakes, baked goods to okashi (snacks) and omiyage (souvenirs) to give to others. It is on this floor where you can pre-order and buy your osechi.

As families purchase osechi, they also purchase osechi and omiyage for their families and friends they will see. Giving omiyage is a common practice here in Japan. The idea is if you were to travel somewhere for the day you would bring back an omiyage which is usually an okashi – cookies – to give to your co-workers. With this in mind, I have to buy at least 80 okashi-omiage for all the teachers in my school… yikes!!

For more great info regarding Japanese osechi0-ryori during the new year, visit KyotoFoodie

[Pictures courtesy of Tokyokawaii, Hostel64, Kyotofoodie, and photographersdirect]

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