Tsukimi (月見) or Otsukimi, the custom of honoring the autumn moon, has had a long history in Japan. Meaning “moon viewing”, it is the autumn counterpart of hanami (cherry blossom viewing) which is conversely observed during spring. Originating as a religious observance of farmers praying for a plentiful harvest, today the season of tsukimi is a mid-autumn festival held in appreciation of the harvest moon involving moon viewing parties where revellers gather outside in celebration to witness the full moon.

The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the old lunar calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. Known as jugoya (full moon night) or chushu no meigetsu (beautiful mid-autumn moon), this is when the moon is at its fullest and roundest. Following are a few traditions that relate to the celebration of the mid-autumn harvest moon.

Tsukimi Dango

Tsukimi Dango are Japanese dumplings made from mochiko (rice flour) and are traditional food for Jugoya moon viewing. Rolled into moon-shaped, bite-sized balls, they are boiled or steamed and are usually presented in a pyramid-shaped pile. Along with taro and pampas grass, these little dumplings are traditionally offered to the full moon on the most auspicious moon-viewing day.

Tsukimi Soba

Tsukimi Soba (“moon-viewing soba”) are thin noodles made from buckwheat flour and served in hot broth as a noodle soup and garnished with nori (seaweed) and a raw egg that poaches in the hot soup. The buckwheat noodle resemble the sky at night whilst the egg yolk represents the moon surrounded by a thin milky egg white cloud floating freely in the sky.

Tsukimi Burger

Each year McDonald’s in Japan releases a popular limited time menu item, the Tsukimi Burger (月見バーガー, literally moon-viewing burger), which is available only during Autumn. The Tsukimi Burger is a hamburger that contains a poached egg with the yolk representing the moon on an egg white sky, a hamburger patty, bacon and a special teriyaki-like sauce.

Susuki

Susuki (also known as Japanese pampas grass, Japanese silver grass or Eulalia), is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. During the celebration of tsukimi, vases filled with flower arrangements using susuki, which comes into ears by this season, and other autumnal herbs are offered to the full moon on Jugoya as a symbol of thankfulness for the harvest.

Satoimo

Satoimo (also known as taro) is a tropical root that has a strong association with tsukimi as it is at its best at this time of the year. It had been introduced to Japan from southern China and Southeast Asia, and was a regular part of the Japanese diet. In the eighteenth century, regular offerings to the moon and gods included boiled satoimo, and Otsukimi also became known as imo-meigetsu, or taro moon.

Moon Rabbit

Rabbits are always connected with the moon in Japan. In Japanese folklore the Moon Rabbit is a rabbit that lives on the moon making mochi (rice cake) based upon markings on the moon, that observers perceive in the bright disc of the full moon, that look like a rabbit pounding in a mortar and pestle. The Western perception is that there is a man in the moon based upon an imaginary figure resembling a human face.

Okiku and the Nine Plates is a story about the tragic suffering of a plate-counting, well-dwelling ghost called Okiku. It is a famous Japanese folktale that can be traced back to the Kabuki play, Banchō Sarayashiki (Broken Dishes at Banchō Mansion). There are many variants to the story of how Okiku’s tortured soul came to inhabit the bottom of a well. Following is the folklore version.

Yoshitoshi's The Ghost of Okiku at the Dish Mansion

As the tale goes, Okiku was a beautiful servant maid who worked for the samurai Tessan Aoyama. Aoyama attempted to seduce Okiku making amorous advances, which she rejected. In anger, he hid a precious ceramic plate that belonged to a treasured collection of ten heirloom plates. He then ordered Okiku to fetch the plates and count them in front of him. She counted only nine plates. Aoyama blamed the loss of the plate on Okiku however, as a concession, he offered to overlook the small matter of the missing heirloom if she relented and became his mistress. Okiku again refused and so an enraged Aoyama killed her, disposing her body down a well.

Read more »

Philanthropist, volunteer worker and resident of Peru, Scott Jeppesen of the charitable organisation Sonrisas en Peru, explores the fascinating history of Japanese immigration to Peru and the strong influence that Japanese culture has played on various aspects of Peruvian society.

I currently reside in Lima, the capital of Peru. Every day I am faced with some characteristic of Peruvian culture that has been derived from Japanese origins. Urged by curiosity I soon discovered the intriguing story of the Japanese Peruvians, a large ethnic immigrant group in Peru.

The Japanese Peruvians

The Japanese Peruvians are Peruvian citizens of Japanese ethnic origin. They constitute around 0.3% of Peru’s population (estimated at nearly 90,000 in 2008) which is the second largest population of people with Japanese ancestry in Latin America after Brazil.

Peru was the first Latin American country to accept Japanese immigration. Back in 1899 the first wave of 790 Japanese immigrants arrived at the Peruvian seaport Callao aboard the “Sakura Maru” from the Japanese port of Yokohama and thus spawned the Nikkei ethnicity in Latin America.

The Sakura Maru

Most notably, Japanese Peruvians were brought to the world’s attention in 1990 by the election of Alberto Fujimori, son of Japanese immigrants and the 90th president of Peru. Fujimori was the first person of Asian descent to become president of a Western country.

Alberto Ken'ya Fujimori

« Previous Page — Next Page »