和菓子 (Wagashi) – Japanese Sweets

12th April – 卯月

Japanese sweets, 和菓子 (Wagashi) was named in order to make distinction to the Western sweets 洋菓子(Yougashi). Wagashi is less sweet than Yougashi, but it express seasons with the tastes and looks. For instance, in the spring time, many Wagashi uses Cherry blossom flower petals and make it pink color to bring create spring looks and tastes. Therefore, eating Wagashi can make you feel the season.

In the old time, sugar was very expensive and hard to obtain, thus only noble could taste them. However from Edo era, sugar have commonly imported so Wagashi finally spread to civilians.

Sweets were brought by envoys from other countries, varies from Chinese, Portuguese and so on. Japanese evolved those sweets and made own style sweets – Wagashi. In many case, the typical difference between Wagashi and Yougashi is that Wagashi often use red beans, rice flour, on the other hand Yougashi often use eggs, butter, whipped cream and wheat flour.

There are heaps kinds of Wagashi, but to devide roughly, there are 3 different types:

-生菓子 (Namagashi): raw sweets

大福 (Daifuku)…boiled red beans wrapped in rice cakes. there is another similar sweets called おはぎ (Ohagi), inside is rice glutinous rice and wrapped with boiled red beans.

-半生菓子 (Han namagashi): in between raw and dry sweets

最中 (Monaka): boiled red beans inside the dry Glutinous rice skin. The skin part is crispy and inside is moistured, therefore it is considered as Han namagashi.

‐干菓子 (Higashi): completely dry sweets

煎餅 (Senbei): rice crackers, many of them are seasoned surface or seasoned dough. In the most case, Senbei is dry, but there are wet Senbei exists too.

What Wagashi have you tried before?

I am getting very hungry!!!

キジ (Kiji) – Pheasant

11th April – 卯月

Japanese national bird, it was determined in 1947. Pheasant stays in Japan whole year and it is Japanese endemic species.

雉 (Kiji) as a national bird of Japan, is believed to exist most places in Japan exept in Hokkaido and Tsushima, however many people never have seen them. Kiji is very vigilant animal and generally appear the places where has a spot to hide. Because if it rare in many areas to see Kiji, it is considered to be lucky if people encounter Kiji. Especially Albino Kiji has been treated with care from very long time ago, if you could see them in wild, it is very very lucky!

People normally imagine Kiji as a colorful bird, however that is just a male ones, female Kiji is similar to the general brown mountain birds.

The male Kiji has red parts around eyes, green chest with different patterned body so looks very gorgeous. Female one has whole brown colored body and little bit of pale red color. Both has long tale and lives rather in close to the village area than deep in the mountains. They are very good at running but not at flying, maybe that is why they have kept staying in Japan whole year.

As a courtship behavior of male Kiji, they make unique sounds like ケーンケーン (Ke-n Ke-n) and smash their wings to the ground very loud, called ほろうち(Horouchi), to appeal the female Kiji. There is one proverb saying ‘けんもほろろ’ (Ken mo Hororo), meaning of rejecting consulting from people in unfriendly way. This word comes from Kiji’s behavior, When female Kiji deny the male unfriendly.

The another reason that Kiji was chosen for national bird is that Kiji is devoted to family. There is a proverb called ‘焼野の雉夜の鶴’ (Yakeno no kigisu, Yoru no tsuru), this related to the story of Kiji in the burnt bush – One legendary story. One field got fire and burnt whole field. One person went to check the field and found one female Kiji crouching with its skin burnt. When he got close to the Kiji, he flew away and there were eggs. That Kiji protected the kids even in the risk of own life. Kiji is also known to protect its kids from cold in the night with its wings. Therefore, the meaning of the proverb is the Family love, deep love from parents.

Even Kiji is believed as a dignified lucky birds, there are some negative belief related to Kiji. Many areas in Japan have traditional story that when Kiji cry, earthquake will occur. Moreover, this have proven as true! Kiji cry differently to normal / cry a lot when they sense something different. In fact, even the Tohoku huge earthquake occurred, Kiji in the close area were crying continuously. Maybe Kiji is telling us to leave the place? In this way, they are the savior for humans!

椿 (Tsubaki) – Camellia Japonica

10th April – 卯月

Big red flower petals with yellow vivid style, this gorgeous flower is called 椿 (Tsubaki) and often drawn on the Kimonos. Many people might think this lower blooms in winter time, however some species are blooming in April. It generally blooms between December and April and this flower does not have smells – this is because the vivid red or pink-colored flower itself already can bring many insects and birds’ attention so no need to release the smells.

The name Tsubaki was believed to be named after the looks of leaves of Tsubaki. As Tsubaki has thick (厚い, Atsui) and glossy (光沢, koutaku) leaves, it might come from Kanjis such as 厚葉木(Atsubaki) or 光沢木 (Tuyaki).

There are similar flower species called 山茶花 (Sazanka), and many people confuse with those species. To tell the differences, you can check;

-The blooming season: Sazanka blooms during October – December

-The leaves: leaf vein of Sazanka is black and leaves have more detailed jagged edges than Tsubakis’. Sazanka leaves have hairs bedind

-The way of withering: Sazankas’ petals fall when withering, Tsubaki falls whole flower when withering

If you know those point, you might make others surprise!

As Tsubaki falls whole flower when withering, it used to be hated by Samurai, as the way of falling down from the neck of the flower reminded them of defeated soldiers who were cut the neck. However, the language of the flower for Tsubaki is ‘beauty of humbleness’ ‘noble flower’, therefore it is now popular and painted for many items.

One thing that you need to be careful when seeing and touching Tsubaki is, the hairy caterpillar called チャドクガ (Chadokuga). Their hair have poison and if you touched this, you will feel intense itchiness and bring eczema. Even their left hair on the leaves give the same symptom. Tsubaki is where Chadokuga love to stay and eat its leaves, therefore, if you see the bitten leaves, it is recommended to stay away from the trees. As the hair of Chadokuga can fly away with the wind and gives you the same symptom as touching it. Even there are no clues of Chadokuga, it is still better to wear the gloves touch Tsubaki.

狛犬 (Komainu)

9th April – 卯月

In the shrine, you might realize there are 2 pair of statues of dog alike animals before getting close to the main hall. Those stone or wooden made statues are called 狛犬 (Komainu), and those are believed to guard the shrines from evils just as a watchdogs.

Komainu 狛犬 can be written as 高麗犬, and 高麗 is the old way of calling Korea, it is believed that when Komainu was introduced to Japan from Korea, Japanese thought this imaginative creature as dog.

Those pair could be different animals depending on the shrines, some places you know can be foxes. Unique ones can be cats, octopus, wild bores, whales and even Kappa too. Those were chosen because of the particular animals were closely related to the area of the shrine and worshiped by people.

If you look closely to the pair of Komainu, you will probably see the difference between those 2. As one is opening mouth but other one is not. Nowadays, people just call those 2 as Komainu, but actual name for those are, left side one is Komainu, right side one is called 獅子 (Shishi).

狛犬 (Komainu): left side, closed mouth, generally with horns

獅子 (Shishi): right side, opened mouth, in many case no horns

In Japan, opening mouth is called 阿(A) and closed mouth as 吽(Un). There is a proverb saying 阿吽の呼吸 (Aun no kokyuu), meaning that 2 pairs breath perfectly at the same time. Therefore, those 2 are perfect partners to protect the shrine together from evils.

In Okinawa, there are similar statues located in front of the house called シーサー (Si-Sa-). Those ones are protecting houses, not the shrines.

Origin of Komainu and Shishi story varies and there are many hypothesizes, some says it comes from Egypt, modeling sphinx, some says it was copied from the Buddhism statue as there are lion statue around the foot of Buddha statue in India.

When you go to the shrine next time, have a look at those statues! You might find your favorite Komainu, or even different guardian nimals!

花祭り (Hana Matsuri) – Buddha’s flower festival

8th April – 卯月

8th of April is the birthday of Buddha, founder of Buddhism. The temples nationwide cerebrate this day.

2500 years ago, Buddha, the name before was Siddhartha was born in Lumbini flower garden, at the bottom of Himalayas. He was born in Shakya tribe’s royalty so he was a prince. After he turned to be 29 years old, he threw his social status away and became Buddha, and spread Buddhism to the world.

In Japan, 4th of April is the season for cherry blossoms, therefore Japanese named this festival as Flower festival.

Inside the temple, placing a little flower temple called 花御堂 (Hanamidou), and in the middle the birth Buddha statue is located. This statue is pointing sky on the right hand, and pointing ground on the left hand. This posture was made from the story about Buddha – once he was born, he walked seven steps toward each direction and said “天上天下唯我独尊” (Tenjou tenge yuiga dokuson), meaning that in this world, yourself with your character is only yourself (you are very precious), so be proud and go ahead your way.

For this statue, people pour tea called 甘茶(Amacha)= sweet tea, using bamboo ladle to cerebrate Buddha’s birthday. This action was made from the story that when Buddha was born, 9 dragons poured sweet water to the Buddha to clean him. Amacha is believed to have a power to prevent illness.

Some temples have 稚児行列 (Chigo gyouretsu) for this event. For Chigo Gyouretsu, children walk the street with Hanamidou on the top of white elephants. This white elephant has 6 fangs, this was believed that Buddha’s mother saw this elephant on her dream. Before Buddha was born, Buddha’s parents had very hard time to infertility. However after the dream of white elephant walking toward her right armpit to belly, she finally have got baby – Buddha.

潮干狩り (Shiohigari) – Clam digging

7th April – 卯月

Digging the sandy beach to find shells such as clams when it is low tide.

In the spring season in Japan, many family go to the sandy beach to enjoy 潮干狩り (Shiohigari). The sandy ground where normally is deep under the sea comes out due to the low tide, has plenty of shell animals. spring is the best season for clam digging because there are spring tide – the time when the the rise and fall of the tide is intense.

Even the sandy beach is able to walk, we have to think about when the tide gets high, otherwise we might get wet or even drawn in the water!

Some beaches are free to do clam digging activities, but need to be careful – as some beaches restrict the fishing in order to protect the profit for fishers. Therefore, it is better to check where are allowed beaches to get in for free.

On the other hand, there are beaches where have entrance fee for Shiohigari. For those places, they normally spread juvenile shellfishes so there are high chance to get shells. However, getting too many shells causes extra fees, so moderation is a key.

To go for Shiohigari, a must items are followings;

-bucket

-shovels scoops

-net

-groves

-esky with icepacks

-hat, cap

-sun screen

-drinks

Be prepared and enjoy Shiohigari!

花粉症 (Kafunshou) – Hay fever

6th April – 卯月

Hay fever exists whole year in Japan, but the worst season starts from the early February and continues till May – In Japanese spring time, there are Cedar pollen flying around and make illiterate many people.

Cedar tree afforestation had done from Edo era, and even after the World War 2, Japanese planted plenty Cedar trees in the burnt field. Therefore 43% of all forest in Japan is made up of Cedar trees.

The first time when Japanese discovered this cedar hay fever was in 1964, meaning that before this period, hay fever caused by cedar trees were not verified.

In the past, cedar trees were cut in order to use them for furniture and houses. However due to the cheap materials from overseas are now mainly used, those cedar trees have been neglected. Since cedar trees spread pollen in the air when the trees are over 30 years old and it continues to produce huge amount pollen till its 50th, therefore those left cedar trees cause the terrible hay fever.

Hay fever occurs when human body react to the pollen coming inside. Human body makes antibody for this foreign substance and try to remove them to the outside.

The allergic reactions can be; itchy eyes, itchy throat, continuous sneezing, running nose with clear colored nasal mucus.

One study shows that in Japan, around 40% of people are considered themselves as hay fever patients (2008). In 2019, it increased to 58%.

Not only cedar pollen but other plants such as hinoki cypress, ragweed and wormwood and so on cause hay fever – this is why the hay fever exists whole year, as each plants produce pollen in different season.

In Hokkaido and Okinawa have less cedar trees, so if you have very bad hay fever, it might be better to be at those north or south edge island to prevent allergic reaction during spring time!

こけし (Kokeshi) – Traditional Japanese wood doll

5th April – 卯月

こけし (Kokehsi), also written as 子芥子, is the traditional wooden doll in Japan. It consists of round part with column and is drew face, hair plus Kimono.

In the end of Edo era, Kokeshi were sold in the hot spring hotels in Tohoku area. At that time, people went to the hot spring to heal the illness as hot spring was believed to be good for sick. Many of those people are farmers and called 湯治客 (Touji kyaku), they stay in the hotels for long term.

Kokeshi is believed to have the power for mind and body recovery plus wish for great harvest. It is considered that Kokeshi is connected to gods in mountains, therefore Kokeshi is still known as a lucky item.

Kokeshi, the name came from the looks of the kids in the edo era. During that time, parents cut their childrens’ hair in a particular way (both boys and girls); leave the hair on the top part and shave the rest. This hair style was called as 芥子坊主(Keshi bouzu), Keshi means poppy flower in Japanese and people thought this hair style looked like it.

On the other hand, there was an another rumors about the origin of the Kokeshi name. After the war, Japan was very poor and many households with kids could not give enough food for all kids. Therefore, some parents abandon the kids (間引き, Mabiki / 口減らし, Kuchi herashi). Instead of the memorial service, they got Kokeshi which looked like kids and place it at home. However, this rumor has no fact confirmation so this might be made up by somebody.

Kokeshi design varies depending on the region and there are more than 10 different shape / style Kokeshi. It is relaxing to just look at them, so if you have a chance to come to Japan, why don’t you get one as a souvenir for your home?:)

タケノコ (Takenoko) – Bamboo shoot

4th April – 卯月

Most people probably know that 筍 (Takenoko = Bamboo shoot) is edible but did you know that we can only eat few bamboo species?

竹(Take =Bamboo) grows very fast, and within around 10 days, the bamboo shoot becomes hard Take tree. 竹 can live more than 100 years, so it is only the short period that we can get Takenoko.

The bud of the 竹, is the only edible part from bamboo, they grow a lot in the warm regions. Spring to the early summer is the perfect season for Takenoko as in this season Takenoko tend to be soft. To get the perfect soft Takenoko, check the ground. If the bamboo dud is just about to come out to the ground, that is the soft ones. If the Takenoko dud is obviously out from the ground, it is already hard. Another way to tell if it is still edible is, checking the Takenoko skin. When all the Takenoko skin fall off, it is no more bamboo shoot but 竹.

After the rainy day is the time when Takenoko tend to come out. There are some Bamboos that can be grown about 1m per day, so it is better to check the bamboo forest right after the rain.

April to May is the season for Takenoko, and this time people enjoy eating Takenoko in dishes, like in the simmered meals, seasoned rice and so on! Bamboo shoot is even used in Ramen, the square ocher colored ingredient on the top.

Lye, the bitter tastes called 灰汁 (Aku) from the Takenoko will come out as soon as Takenoko is taken from the ground. Therefore, once you get the Takenoko, it is recommended to boil whole part. Cutting the top part off and make a vertical cut, then put the Takenoko into the boiled water. The crunchy texture will captivate you!

オノマトペ : 動物 (Onomatope : Doubutsu) – Onomatopoeia No. 2:Animals

3rd April – 卯月

Japanese uses onomatopoeia a lot in the conversation, as I said on the previous blog.

For the sound of animal barking, Japanese hear it differently to the other countries.

-小鳥 (Kotori) Little bird: ピヨピヨ – Piyo Piyo

-烏 (Karasu) Crow:　カーカー – Car Car

-猫 (Neko) Cat:　ニャー – Nya-

-犬 (Inu) Dog:　ワンワン – Wan Wan

-蛙 (Kaeru) Frog:　ケロケロ – Kelo Kelo　ゲロゲロ – Gelo Gelo

-豚 (Buta) Pig:　ブヒブヒ – Buhi Buhi

-ライオン (Laion) Lion:　ガオー – Gao-

-牛 (Ushi) Cow:　モーモー – Mo-

-羊 (Hitsuji) Sheep:　メ―メ― -Mee Mee

-馬 (Uma) Horse:　ヒヒーン – Hihiin

-象 (Zou) Elephant:　パオーン – Paoon

-鼠 (Nezumi) Mouse:　チューチュー – Chu- Chu-

-アヒル (Ahiru) Duck:　ガーガー – Gaa Gaa

-鶏 (Niwatori) Chicken: 　コケコッコー – Kokekokko-

How do animals sound in your country?

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