Kimiko Ohtani
Nara Women’s University
Washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) was added to the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in December 2013. The Japanese government cited the following four points as the characteristics of Washoku: 1) Usage of an abundance of fresh foods from the sea, mountains, and countryside with cherished natural flavors; 2) Presentation of the beauty of nature and the seasons; 3) A healthy and nutritionally well-balanced diet; and 4) Correspondence to annual events, such as New Year’s Day.
Today’s Washoku has been established in the natural environment of Japan by receiving not only ‘Yin-Yang Wu-Xing Thought’, introduced from China in the Asuka (593~710) and Nara periods (710~794), but also various spirits from Honzen ryori, a formally arranged meal in the Samurai society, Kaiseki ryori, a simple meal served before a ceremonial tea ceremony, and Syojin ryori, a devotional meal for Buddhists.
Several Japanese seasonal celebrations developed as a result of the great influence of ‘Yin-Yang Wu-Xing Thought’ on traditional Japanese seasonal celebrations by the noble society and on the agricultural rituals of the common people, which are still practiced today. Among them, five seasonal celebrations – Jinjitsu on January 7, Joshi on March 3, Tango on May 5, Hichiseki on July 7 and Choyo on September 9, collectively called Gosekku and established as the most important days of celebration by the Edo shogunate (1603~1867) – are the most popular celebrations in Japan.
The special dishes and/or Wagashi in each seasonal celebration are eaten in order to make a wish to God for rich harvest, prosperity and well-being of one’s family, healthy growth of one’s children, one’s long life, and so on, although now they are performed in contemporary style.
Omogashi (literally, the main sweets), Wagashi served before offering tea at the tea ceremony, has evolved into beautiful sweets described as “edible art”, treasures that not only taste, but have beautiful appearance to express the season of the year or the scene of some famous Japanese classical literature.
I would like to introduce some representative Wagashi related to the seasonal celebrations and the aesthetics of Omogashi.
(Presented in the 2016 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: Sweet Culture and the Joy of Life, 17-18 August 2016, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies and Indian Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University)