正月に食べた地元博多雑煮と栗はい箸

「　博多雑煮　Hakata zoni　 」  ソフィア学院便り1,2月号のバックナンバー

On New Year’s Day morning, almost Japanese eat a special soup which is called zoni such as Americans eat turkey with cranberry sauce or gravy on Thanksgiving Day. It seems that they are similar traditional days which  are for families gathered at their hometowns to eat special meals at the same tables and thank gods or God through eating both the dishes. The Japanese dish“zoni”isn't just a kind of typical soup but has a holy meaning by eating it.  Japanese say that the New Year’s gods stay in mochi (rice cake) in zoni. It is served as a part of course dishes called “osechi“.

We’ll introduce zoni which is eaten in Hakata (central part of Fukuoka  City) now.
Known as lavish, Hakata zoni features yakiago (grilled and sun-dried flying  fish) as the soup stock, shiitake mushroom and round mochi stewed till soft and eaten in a clear-soup style. The main ingredients are yellowtail, chicken, shiitake mushroom and taro but the essential item is “katsuo-na leaves”, which is said to be a native vegetable in Hakata since long ago. The name apparently derives from the katsuo-bushi (bonito flakes) flavor of the stalk.

Though the main ingredients might vary depending on the household,  it is only these katsuo-na leaves that are indispensable with Hakata zoni.   And people in Hakata eat zoni and osechi with a pair of special chopsticks made of chestnut branches. They are called iwaibashi in Japanese.

Also people in Hakata have the original custom that is to give pretty big yellowtail from a newly-married groom to bride’s house as the New Year’s gift to show masculine groom to bride’s house.

「　なして祝箸は、博多栗はい箸とね 。Part 1」

博多弁で、うまくいかない、予定通りいかないことをよく「まんぐりの狂うたばい。」と言います。また、逆にうまくいくことを「まんぐりのよかごたー。」と言います。これらの表現から博多栗はい箸に、万事繰り合わせがよいと栗が言葉遊びで掛けられているといわれています。正月より１年間都合よくいくことを願いをこめて雑煮やお節を栗の枝を削った祝箸で食べるようです。昔の博多商人の家々では１年のやりくりがうまくいくようにと願いをこめられていたようです。
また、祝箸の両側が尖っているのは、片方は人が食べる部分で、もう片方は、同時に神様が食事をされる部分とされています。博多祝箸は、正月の三日間または１週間は何度も洗われ使われるのが習慣となっています。 

「　なして栗はい箸は、はいてつくとね 。Part 2」

博多栗はい箸の、はいという言葉が気にかかる方が、多いのではと思います。一説では、栗の枝が堅く、餅を延べるのに最適だったので、この延べるという行為が変化したしたのではないか。また、このはい箸は、正月に使われる前に煮沸消毒された後、数日間神棚に供え、清められることから拝するが変化した説などがあります。はっきりしたことが分からないようです。ご存知の方はご教授ください。

ホワイトデイは博多からやったとね！アイディア（愛 dear でぃあ）White Day is from Hakata.

博多商人のアイディア（愛　dear　でぃあ）は、バレンタインデイを超えた！？

バレンタインデイは、古代ローマ時代の聖人バレンタインを由来として歴史もありますが、1か月後そのお返しはとして
男子が、女子により良い贈り物を送る習慣ホワイトデイは、40年前に博多の老舗菓子店、石村萬盛堂が、発案したマシュマロデイ
が起源となり、その後ホワイトデイという名前に代わり、日本中に広がった歴史があります。

" White Day is from Hakata, Japan! "
Well-known Valentine's Day comes from ancient Rome, but only a few people in Japan probably know that White Day is from modern Hakata, Japan.

White Day has been becoming more popular in Japan for several decades. On the Valentine's Day all guys who are given something nice or chocolate by their girl friends unconditionally have to return something better after one month, on March 14 in Japan.

Such a unique custom which has become firmly established among the Japanese was produced by a Hakata great merchant running a confectionery " Ishimura-Manseido " in 1977. In those days it seemed it was called Marshmallow Day.

On that background I'm sure that Hakata merchants have had own their traditional wisdom since ancient Azuchi-Momoyama period.

 

ひな祭り The Doll's Festival In Japan

「博多の伝統や日本の習慣を簡単な英語で表現。」
3月は、やはりひな祭りが最初のトッピクでしょう。
Hinamatsuri is a seasonal festival on March 3, with traditions to pray for the health and happiness of young girls. Households with young daughters celebrate the festival for the girls' future happiness.

And they display a set of dolls dressed in court noble costumes of Heian period on a step-like platform called hinadan. So it is called the Doll's Festival in English.

They also eat various kinds of foods for good luck, such as clam soup, chirashi-zushi( a kind of sushi ), hishimochi ( lozenge-shaped colorful mochi ), colorful snacks called hina-arare, and so on.

And they drink a white sake called shirozake , which has two types, non-alcoholic one and alcoholic one as aside from food. The former one is major.

Since it falls within the peach blossom season, the festival is also called " momono-sekku " or the Peach Festival in English.