Get Up 8

Doyou no Ushi no Hi

I just learned that in Japan today is dedicated to the eating of eel as a means of beating the summer doldrums.

Unagi

While I was in Japan in 2004 (that long ago?), I was treated by my host family, the Oshiais, to a meal for eel at a restaurant in Hamamatsu. Now I know that it was the right choice for a hot day in the middle of summer. The most challenging part of the the meal was the kimosui, a clear soup made from eel innards.

土用の牛の日 is doyou no ushi no hi written in kana. It actually means day of the cow/ox in midsummer. (Though it might also refer to the day of the cow toward the end of any season. I have conflicting information on that.) There's a complicated reason having to do with the Chinese calendar why unagi is eaten on the day of the cow.

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:55

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