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JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月
The great festival of Ebisu "Ebessan"
胡子大祭（えべっさん） God of the Fishermen
New Year Food 2010
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.............. January 1, 2010
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.............. January 1, 2009
This year, UDON are eaten to "pass over into the new year" (toshikoshi udon 年越しうどん). Some are only decorated with red carrot pieces, pickles salted plums (umeboshi) and some green for the "pines on the gates" (kadomatsu) decoration of a home.
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Food safety in Japan
A panel of the Cabinet Office on Nov. 25 made public a report on a scandal involving the reselling of contaminated rice for human consumption, which had surfaced in September 2008. The report said officials of the farm ministry lacked a sense of responsibility for their role in ensuring the safety of food for people.
As a result, the ministry has disciplined 25 high-ranking officials. The government now should strive to restore people's trust in food safety by taking concrete action. The nation has seen a series of food safety-related scandals since January 2008, including contaminated "gyoza" dumplings imported from China and falsified labels for eel and other products from China that made them look like they originated in Japan.
The rice, contaminated with pesticide residues and mold toxin, was part of accumulated "minimum access" stocks imported from China, Vietnam and other countries under 1994 world trade rules. The farm ministry sold the rice on the condition that it be used for non-edible purposes only. But Mikasa Foods in Osaka and a few other companies resold the rice, knowing it would be used for human consumption. About 390 entities bought the rice and some of them, including shochu liquor and snack makers, had to recall their products.
source : Japan Times
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.............. January 3, 2009
WAGOKORO 和憩 Culture Space
will hold a Festival of Traditional Japanese Things, including serving Japanese food on January 25 in Suita, Osaka.
wagaku 和学 Japanese Learning
source: wagokoro.sarashi.com
source: wagokoro Japanese Food of the Season
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.............. January 7, 2009
Tsukiji Bluefin Tuna First Auction
The battle over a bluefin tuna that sold for ¥9.63 million at the first auction of the year at Tokyo's Tsukiji market, the highest price fetched in eight years, ended when the Japanese and Chinese bidders agreed to share the fish, market participants said Thursday.
Ricky Cheng Wai-tao (left), manager of a Hong Kong sushi chain, celebrates with rival bidder Yosuke Imada (center) Monday at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo after they agreed to jointly buy a tuna for .63 million, the highest price in eight years, in the first auction of the year.
Yosuke Imada, the 63-year-old manager of the prestigious sushi restaurant Kyubey in Tokyo's Ginza district, and Ricky Cheng Wai-tao, the 41-year-old Chinese manager of the Itamae Sushi chain in Hong Kong and elsewhere, each took half of the fish, which was caught off Oma, Aomori Prefecture.
The tuna was cut in two at the market immediately after Monday's bidding, with one half transported to Hong Kong and the other to Ginza.
One piece of "otoro" sushi, using the fattest portion of the fish, costs around ¥1,100 in Hong Kong restaurants and ¥2,000 in Ginza.
Yukitaka Yamaguchi, 46, a longtime middleman for Imada who also started to work with Cheng last year, found himself in a quandary after both asked him to buy the top fish "at any cost" in the auction.
Summoning both of them to a hotel bar in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, on the eve of the auction, Yamaguchi suggested they jointly purchase the fish.
The two accepted the plan because Imada wanted to avoid an unnecessary battle that would drive up the cost ...
source : Japan Times, Januray 7, 2009. Kyodo News
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Collagen Nabe コラーゲン鍋 Hodgepodge with collagen
A new fad with the ladies for a beautiful tsuru tsuru skin.
Now FamilyMart Co. has started selling collagen nabe at its 7300 outlets across Japan on Nov. 18.
The merit of collagen eaten as food to improve the skin contidion is discussed by the scientists.
Reference
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.............. January 11, 2009
Tsukiji to reopen tuna auctions to public after tourism ban
The famed Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo will allow tourists to resume watching its early-morning tuna auctions from Jan. 19 after a monthlong ban instituted in mid-December ends on Jan. 17, Tokyo government officials said Saturday.
Although the gigantic fish market in Chuo Ward run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has established a worldwide reputation through its own promotions, it put a 34-day ban in place on Dec. 15 to keep away "ill-mannered tourists" — most of them from abroad.
The market also cited hygiene risks and interference from curious onlookers attempting to touch the tuna and take flash photos — nuisances often raised by the auctioneers.
The ban also came in conjunction with the busy tuna trade before the New Year holidays.
According to the metro government, more than 500 tourists come to watch the tuna auctions at 5:30 each morning, and more than 90 percent of the visitors are from overseas.
source : Japan Times
WASHOKU : Tsukiji, the big fish market in Tokyo
築地市場, Tsukiji shijoo
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.............. January 27, 2009
Consumers warm to ginger in drinks, soups
Kyodo News
Long used as a spice in cooking, "shoga" (ginger) is now being added to caramel, cocoa, vegetable juice and "happoshu" beerlike drinks.
Kuracie Foods Ltd., a Tokyo-based sweets and ice cream manufacturer, marketed a new product called Ginger Cube in September. Each pack consists of eight caramel cubes containing condensed ginger extract. People consuming the entire pack ingest 15 grams of ginger, which boosts body warmth, the company claims.
The sugary taste of caramel and the spiciness of ginger blend in the mouth so that even men who are not fond of sweets like the product and do not tire of it, said Minori Tsuda, who is in charge of developing the product.
Major beer maker Asahi Breweries Ltd. has released Ginger Draft, a combination of ginger and happoshu that the company says keeps the bitter taste of beer at bay while providing a refreshing, hot and spicy aftertaste.
Takayuki Fukutomi, the company official in charge of the new drink, is targeting Ginger Draft at young people who are already familiar with ginger in cocktails.
Also on the market are Shoga Cocoa produced by Bourbon Corp. of Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, and Hachimitsu Shoga Aojiru (honey ginger green juice) made by Kirin Yakult NextStage Co. based in Tokyo.
Nagatanien Co., a Tokyo-based food product maker, began marketing a cup of soup called Hieshirazu san no Shoga Series (ginger series of soups to warm people up) in 2007.
The product captured the hearts of young women plagued by poor circulation. Total sales amounted to about ¥400 million in the initial year.
The company now has a "ginger section" that grows ginger and researches its effects. The section also provides information on its research and recipes.
source : Japan Times
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Related words
JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月
FEBRUARY ... nigatsu 二月
MARCH ... sangatsu 三月
APRIL ... shigatsu 四月
MAY ... gogatsu 五月
JUNE ... rokugatsu 六月
JULY ... shichigatsu 七月
AUGUST ... hachigatsu 八月
SEPTEMBER ... kugatsu 九月
OCOTBER ... juugatsu 十月
NOVEMBER ... juuichigatsu 十一月
DECEMBER ... juunigatsu 十二月
***** WASHOKU ... SEASONAL DISHES SAIJIKI
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