Japanese culture
Japanese Mochi with sweet red been paste
Once in a while, I crave Japanese sweets. I made Strawberry Daifuku with shiratama flour that a friend of mine from Vancouver gave me. I got azuki beans at a store that sells beans by weight. After I made sweet red bean paste with azuki beans, wrapped strawberries with that paste. Then I made mochi […]
Moon viewing
Jugo-ya, the fifteenth night of a lunar month is a day to enjoy the Tsukimi dango (moon-viewing rice dumplings) while appreciating the beautiful moon, and to give thanks for the good harvest. We watched the harvest full moon at our front yard, and enjoyed the pumpkin soup and sweet red bean soup with rice dumplings. […]
Tanabata
Tanabata, July 7th is famous as the day to write wishes on strips of paper and wish upon the stars in Japan.The custom of floating Tanabata decorations down rivers and into the sea is called “Tanabata Nagashi”, and it is said that when the decorations reach the Milky Way, your wishes will come true!
Sweets of June, Minazuki
Mizunazuki is the lunar calendar name for June, and this triangle sweets is called Minazuki. It is a Japanese traditional sweets made by rice jelly with sweetened azuki beans on top. I arranged matcha jelly in between to make it 3 layers. In Kyoto, it is customary to eat this on June 30, the day […]
Spring Equinox Day
March 21 is spring equinox called O-Higan in Japan. The “O-Higan” is a Buddhist event that occurs twice a year, in spring and autumn. Many Japanese visit their family graves and clean the grave. O-Higan literally translates as “the other shore.” On equinox day, it is said that the distance between ‘this world’ and ‘that world’ becomes closest. So they […]