Japanese Wooden Barrel Cooper Craftsman, Kurita Minoru Kurita Minoru was born in Nagoya on July 4, 1…More
The Make-A-Wish Sushi Roll / 恵方巻
節分と言えば、豆まき!というのが主流でしたが、近年は、それに付け加え「恵方巻を食べる」という習慣も
根付いてきました。恵方巻は、もともと大阪が発祥と言われており、遊女に巻寿司を「丸かぶり」させる
花魁遊びの一つという説や商売繁盛と厄払いを祈願して食べたのが始まりだとも言われています。
It’s not just soybeans that are consumed at Setsubun, these days, but sushi rolls called
Ehou-maki have become popular additions to the seasonal ritual.
This new ritual of eating the long, rolled Ehou-maki is said to have started in Osaka during the
Edo period where it was called Marukaburi. The area’s courtesans are said to have eaten it in the
hopes of a healthy and prosperous year ahead.

その年の吉と言われる方角(恵方)を向いて、目を閉じ、何も言わず、願いごとをしながら、一本の太巻きを
最後まで一気に食べきる。これが、恵方巻の正しい食べ方。(地域によっては、笑いながら食べるところもあり)
ちょっと不思議で、滑稽な習慣のように思いますが、太巻きを「切らず」に食べるのには、一本丸ごと食べる
=切らない、つまり「縁を切らない」という意味が込められているのだそうです。
Inside the long sushi wraps, now available in convenience stores around Setsubun, was kampyo dried gourd shavings, sliced cucumber, shiitake mushrooms, egg and eel, rice and nori seaweed wrapping,
seven ingredients in all, each representing one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, all wrapped up together.
恵方巻の具は、かんぴょう、きゅうり、しいたけ、だし巻たまご、うなぎ、でんぶの7種類。
七福神にちなんで、7種類の具を巻寿司にすることで「福を巻き込む」という意味を持たせるという、
これまた縁起もの!何とも日本らしい習慣ですね。
The courtesan was supposed to face the particular direction of that year’s zodiac symbol, close her eyes,
and silently make her wish before attempting to eat the Ehou-maki in one go! The sushi roll was not to be
cut by knife or teeth, and eaten in one go to show determination in following through to the end.
A very Japanese way of thinking.
【Japan World Links】
Related Article of this Post
-
- 2014.04.23 CULTURE Japanese Sweets, Boys Day Treats, Kashiwamochi / 柏餅
-
- 2014.03.03 CULTURE Japanese Sweets, Girls Day Treats, Sakuramochi / 桜餅
-
- 2014.02.01 CULTURE Beaning The Devil / 節分
-
- 2014.01.07 CULTURE 七草粥 / Japanese New Years Food, Nanakusa Gayu
-
- 2012.09.18 CULTURE 秋の和菓子「栗きんとん」 / Kuri-Kinton, Chestnut Delicacy Limited to Fall
-
- 2012.09.11 CULTURE Pickled plums “umeboshi ” / 梅干し
-
- 2012.09.04 ENTERTAINMENT Book; Netsuke, Japanese Life and Legend in Miniature
-
- 2012.08.16 ENTERTAINMENT Book; The Maker of Modern Japan, The Life of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu

Nagoya Butsudan (Home Buddhist Altar) Craftsman, Goto Katsumi Goto Katsumi is the third gener…More
Nagoya Yuzen, Traditional ArtisanMitsuhisa Horibe Mr.Mitsuhisa Horibe was born in Nagoya in…More
Samurai Signatures, Kao (花押) Samurai Signatures, Kao (花押) Kao (花押) were stylised identification sig…More
Ninja didn’t wear black! Ninja didn’t wear black! Despite the popular image of the black clothed and…More
Samurai File; Shimazu Tadahisa Samurai File; Shimazu Tadahisa (??-August 1, 1227) Shimazu Tadahisa,…More
Book; Shogun / James Clavell In Osaka castle in the autumn of 1598, the great Japanese leader Toyo…More
The 47 Ronin Story / John Allyn In late 2013, Hollywood released its re-imagined version of the clas…More
BOOK REVIEW; Japonius TyrannusThe Japanese Warlord, Oda Nobunaga reconsidered. This is a brilliant b…More