Every region has a custom to hold some kind of celebration on the night that falls on the seventh day after the baby is born, which is called the “Oshichiya” (お七夜).
In the past, relatives, neighbors, matchmakers, godparents, midwives, and others were invited to a feast, where the baby’s name was announced and the baby was recognized as a member of society for the first time.
This is a remnant of this tradition, and this gathering is also known as the “celebration of naming called “Meimei Shiki“(命名式).
How to celebrate the Oshichiya
The standard celebration meal for Oshichiya is a red rice (sekihan) served with a fish head. Other auspicious items such as kombu (kelp) and red and white fu (wheat gluten) are also used, but they vary from region to region. You may also serve simmered dishes, sashimi, etc. according to the taste of the guests.
Since it is impossible for the mother to prepare the food for the Oshichiya, it is common to ask the grandparents to help, or to have the food catered.
It would be a pity to take a seven-day-old baby out to a large gathering, so it is best to put the baby in a separate room and allow the guests to see him or her before the feast begins.
Who to invite to the seventh day
The seventh day of life is the time when the mother and the baby are discharged from the hospital, and the mother is easily exhausted. Therefore, today, it is common to invite only the grandparents from both sides of the family for an informal celebration.
If you are invited to the seventh night
Although there is no specific custom, it is a good idea to bring a gift of some kind. It is common to bring a bouquet of flowers, a cake, sake, fruit, a small toy, or baby items.
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To increase the absorption rate of beta-carotene, it is more effective to cook carrots in oil than to eat them raw, and to cook them in oil rather than stewing them. When eaten raw, with vinegar or lemon is recommended. To store carrots, wipe dry and cut off the leaves at first. Then, wrap each one in a piece of newspaper. After put them in a ziplock or plastic bag, and store upright refrigerate. It can be refrigerated for 2~3 weeks!
As the seasons change from spring to summer, people put away their warmer clothing and take out their lighter, thinner clothing. Some families even use different furniture and household utensils.
Although things have changed considerably from the days when kimonos were worn every day, the custom of changing clothes according to the season still continues.
Schools and workplaces with uniforms also have the custom of changing clothes. Jackets are removed, tops are changed from long-sleeved to short-sleeved, and bottoms are made of light, breathable fabrics such as linen. Also, depending on the industry, many workplaces are encouraging employees to wear no-ties or casual clothes to work only during this time of the year.
In very olden days, it was the custom at the royal court to change into summer attire on April 1 of the lunar calendar and back into winter on October 1. In later years, the Shogun issued precise regulations regarding dress to all samurai and ladies of the court. Commomn people as well were bound by the regulations.
During the Meiji period, the government established official dates for the seasonal change of clothing. To this day, it is still general practive to change from winter to summer clothes on June 1 and back to winter on October 1.
Seasonal Changes in the House
Yoshido (葦戸) : Sliding door made of reeds
Hanagoza (花茣蓙)：Colorful rush matting to lay on top of tatami
Kayari (蚊遣り) : Mosquito coils burn in holders of various shapes
Uchiwa (団扇) : Round flat fan
Kaya (蚊帳) : Mosquito netting is rarely used in Japan nowadays but until dairly recently people slept under these nets during summer.
Natsu-noren (夏暖簾) : Noren are long divided curtains often hung in the entryways of shops and restaurants. During the summer, many shop owners noren made of linen or other light babrics.
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Oranges are rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, and skin benefits. You may have trouble storing them when they can’t fit in the refrigerator or when you can’t finish eating them. In such cases, I recommend wrapping oranges in newspaper and storing them at room temperature in a cool, well-ventilated, dark place. 1 to 2 weeks will keep them tasty without drying out. Just don’t forget to refrigerate them before eating!
Umamiis the fifth category of taste and is not as commonly known as the other four (sweet, salty, sour and bitter).
Umami is a concept with which all Japanese people are familiar – the Japanese palate easily recognizes its rich mouth-feel. The Kanji characters for umami translate as “delicious flavor” (旨味). When something taste good, it is often said to be Oishii (美味しい), but it can also be called Umai (旨い), and shares the Japanese character for umami.
Umami can be described as savory; it is full, rich, and round on the palate. It naturally exists in many foods including Parmesan cheese, meat, mushrooms, seaweed and tomatoes.
In 1908, Professor Kikunae Ikeda identified umami while sampling his wife’s is tofu simmered in a kelp broth and later isolated glutamate, inosinate, and guanylate, the naturally occurring amino acids and nucleotides that are the common components in umami-rich foods. Professor Ikeda also developed the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate.
Many Japanese ingredients are rich in natural umami, including some of the main players in the Japanese pantry; soy sauce, mirin, miso and sake. Food is richer in Umami when fried that when fresh: shiitake, scallops, and daikon, for example.
Chives are an effective vegetable for nourishing and relieving fatigue. It also contains vitamin E, which helps prevent lifestyle-related diseases and antioxidants, so it is an ingredient that should be included in your daily diet as much as possible. Because of its unique flavor, it is best to use it up quickly, but if you cannot use it up, it is recommended to wash it well before refrigerating or freezing it.
In the past, it was common for respected people or relatives with longevity to be godparents, or for fathers and grandfathers to name their babies, but these days, with the trend toward nuclear families, parents are more likely to name their babies.
How Parents Decide The Name?
In the past, people often used the family name as a reference for naming their children, but nowadays people tend to focus more on the ease of calling (sound) and the image of the Chinese characters.
However, there are cases where grandparents or relatives place great importance on the family name judgment and cannot be ignored. Since surname and name determination is based on the balance of characters with the family name, the range of names is limited. (My mother, for example, bought books and did careful research.)
Once a potential name is chosen, the parents check the name from various angles for any flaws. It is important to note that some kanji cannot be used for names. The only kanji that can be used are the Joyo Kanji and Kanji for personal names. Since the reading is free, some parents give a reading that is somewhat close in sound and meaning to the kanji.
Recent Name Trends
The most popular names in 2021 were “蓮”(REN) for a boy and “陽葵”(HIMARI) for a girl. REN was the 1st for 4 consecutive years and HIMARI was 1st for 6 consecutive years!!!
As the effects of the COVID situation continue to be felt, there seems to be a growing trend among both men and women to choose names that are more solid and reassuring than those that are varied and novel.
Another name, “AOI,” ranked first in the common reading for both boy and girl, is a popular gender-free name.
Meimei Shiki (Naming Ceremony)
Parents usually decide their newborn’s name until the 7th day after the birth. This is because they used to invite their family and relatives and hold special dinner gathering/party. At this event, parents announce their baby’s name for the first time and put the paper with their baby’s name on the wall to show everyone.
Nowadays, parents and their family (including relatives) live apart because of lifestyle and also for work situation. So, it’s not so easy to coordinate this gathering after the child birth. Modern parents usually celebrate this event only for themselves these days. Same as this situation, my husband and I had casual lunch with my parents on the day I came back home from hospital. (After lunch, I went asleep to get recovered…zzz) Read More
In spring, edible wild plants called “Sansai” (山菜) appear in supermarkets. Sansai are considered very precious because they can be picked in mountains or fields for a short period of time, only a few weeks.
It is said that there are more than 200 varieties of Sansai, including sprouts, greens, and small, tender young grasses.
Although some Sansai have a bitter taste, they are used in a variety of dishes such as soba noodles, cooked rice, branched vegetables, and salads.
Tempurais a must for those who enjoy the taste of Sansai. When I was a child, my grandparents who lived in the countryside would send us wild vegetables from the mountains when it was time to harvest them. I still remember how my father used to happily eat them as tempura on the same day they were sent to us. (And I used to pick them up and eat them!) At the time, I ate them without really understanding how delicious they were, but now I realize that it was a luxurious time.
Some popular Sansai include:
Asatsuki (あさつき) : Chives Fuki (ふき) : Japanese butterbur Fuki no to(ふきのとう) : Unopened bud of Japanese butterbur Katakuri(かたくり) : Dog’s-tooth violet Nobiru(のびる) : Red garlic Seri(せり) : Water dropwort Tara no me(たらのめ) : Shoot of the Angelica tree Tsukushi(つくし) : Field horsetail shoot Udo(うど) : Japanese spikenard Warabi(わらび) : Bracken Yomogi(よもぎ) : Mugwort Zenmai(ぜんまい) : Royal fern
It is the season for fresh onions. Because of their high water content, they are crispy and have a nice texture when cut into thin slices and eaten in salads. Fresh onions are easily damaged, and if stored at room temperature, their skins will soon become slimy. To prevent moisture damage, it is recommended to wrap them in newspaper or kitchen paper, place them in a plastic bag, and keep them refrigerated.They will still be crisp after a week.
In Japan, when a woman reaches the fifth month of pregnancy, she wears an abdominal belt called an “Iwata Obi” (岩田帯) in hopes of an easy delivery.
It was worn every day until the day the baby was born, but these days few people actually wear one, even though some buy one for celebratory purposes.
Nowadays, instead of belly bands, people wear girdles or belly wraps, which are convenient for taking off the belt.
And the first day to wrap the girdle is called the Obi Celebration, which is the day of the dog in the fifth month of pregnancy.
(In the lunar calendar, each of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac is distributed on a different day of the month, so there are two or three Dog Days in a month.)
Dogs are said to be fertile and to have an easy delivery, so the dog day is probably because of the desire to be named after them.
In the past, belly bands were usually sent with dried bonito flakes and sake from the family of the expectant mother, after prayers for safe delivery had been offered at a nearby shrine or temple.
It may also be given by a matchmaker or a close couple blessed with a child.
The gift varies from region to region, such as a bleached cotton with the words Kotobuki or Inu (dog) written in red, or a talisman tucked into the obi.
Since it is a lucky charm, it may be appropriated in the form of a token, which can then be purchased at shrines or department stores that offer prayers for easy childbirth.
In my case, there is a famous shrine called Kishimojin in my neighborhood, so I went there to pray for a safe delivery. At that time, I bought a belly band.
During my pregnancy, I wore a girdle-style one, both with my first son and when I gave birth to my first daughter.
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