While the eating habit and custom in Japan have remarkably changed with the times, there are some of them remained unchanged. The remaining phase of the eating habit and custom is most evident in the dishes traditional and specific for the year's celebrations.
The present study is to investigate the dishes specifically designed and prepared for each annual event.
The set of questionnaires was developed and the copies were sent by mail to 2, 000 women of 20-70 years of age, and the per-centage of the collection was 63.7%.
The data shows that the events, which are regarded most popular among the Japanese, have the following characteristics;
1. Events are for the purpose of celebrating someone in the family members;
e.g., birthday, Boys' and Girls' Day,
Shichi-go-san (7-5-3-years of age), entrance or graduation and the Day for the Aged.
2. Events have dishes specifically associated with each celebration;
e.g., Toshikoshi-soba (on the New Year's Eve),
Ohagi during the Spring and Autumn Equinox Weeks. Popularity does not necessarily depend on the varieties of the dishes but rather on the association of the dishes with the events.
3. Such special dishes for the events almost always include cereal grains in each special form;
e.g., mochi, noodles,
seki-han (rice steamed together with red beans) and
sushi (rice flavored with vinegar).
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