Deafness-curing sake

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Rice wine to cure deafness (jirooshu)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Rice wine to cure deafness, jirooshu
治聾酒 (じろうしゅ)

This is a drink for a special day in spring.

The god of the earth had a special festival twice a year around the spring and autumn equinox to welcome him and send him off. The day was defined to be the "light or elder brother of the earth" tsuchi no e　戊, according to the Asian lunar calendar and the knowledge of the five elements.

This day is also called "Shrine Day" shanichi 社日. On this shrine day, farmers would assemble at the local shrine and dance for the gods, praying for a good harvest in spring (shunsha　春社） and thanking for one in autumn　（shuusha 秋社）. In autumn, the god of the earth was then sent off to the mountain, to live there until next spring as the "god of the mountain, yama no kami 山の神.
Rice fields, Gods of Japan and Haiku

Rice wine was served to the elderly and children with deafness with the hope for cure. It was just a normal rice wine. This custom has died out almost completely in our day of modern medicine.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


治聾酒の代り紅茶にナポレオン　　

instead of deafness-healing sake
there is black tea -
Napoleon　　　　　

Zawaki Kin-ichi 沢木欣一


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治聾酒の酔ふほどもなくさめにけり　
jirooshu no you hodo mo naku same ni keri

not really drunk
from the deafness-curing sake
I get sober again

. Murakami Kijoo 村上鬼城 Murakami Kijo .


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Related words

***** WKD : The Asian Lunar Calendar

***** DRINKS SAIJIKI

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