January 7 is known as Nanokashogatsu, and it has long been the date for the custom of eating the “seven wild herbs of spring” to cure any illness. These seven herbs are water dropwort, shepherd’s purse, cudweed, chickweed, nipplewort, lapsana, turnip, and daikon. Years ago, these herbs grew wild near people’s homes, and turnip and daikon were cultivated in gardens.
The custom of eating these herbs arose because they were the first to sprout in the new year and were therefore thought to be filled with energy. In addition, people would have had their fill of osechi ryori, the traditional New Year’s fare, by this time. Furthermore, they would have been fatigued by all the special events and partying during the holiday season, and their stomachs would have been weakened. As a remedy for this, these seven herbs were used as the ingredients in okayu, a kind of rice porridge. In Hakata, however, many families used them to make a thinner soup than okayu, which might be better called nanakusajiru.
Today, these herbs are sold in bundles in Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores on January 6 and 7. The custom of eating this dish was first recorded in a document dating from 1362, but it was not until the Edo period (1603-1868) that it spread among samurai families and the general public.
January 7 is also the date of one of Japan’s three major fire festivals at the Dazaifu Tenmangu. That is the impressive Onisube, which begins at 9:00 p.m. As the participants chant “Oni ja, oni ja,” fire and smoke is used to flush out the demons who have secluded themselves in the Onisube-do.
Another event held on January 7 is usokae which takes place at 7:00 a.m. People visit the shrine grounds, wave a wooden model of the uso bird, and chant, “kaemasho, kaemasho” (change them, change them). This is supposed to clear away all the lies (uso) of the past year. The event is held to welcome the new year with a refreshed state of mind.
Why not get into the spirit of the season, savor some nanakusa gayu in the morning, and pay a visit to the Dazaifu Tenmangu that night?
Originally published in Fukuoka Now magazine (fn133, Jan. 2010)
