Tsukimi (月 見), or Otsukimi (お 月 見), literally “contemplation of the moon / admiring the moon,” also called Dzyugoya (十五 夜), refers to Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon, the version of the Mid-Autumn Festival . The celebration of the full moon usually occurs on the 15th day of the eighth month according to the traditional Japanese calendar ; the growing moon is revered by the 13th day of the ninth month. These days usually fall in September and October on the modern solar calendar .
This tradition dates back to the Heian era and is now so popular in Japan that some people do not stop celebrating for several evenings, waiting for the full Moon to appear during the eighth lunar-solar month.
The traditions of Tsukimi honoring the beauty of the moon include the finishing of the room with ears of susuki (Japanese miscanthus ) and the consumption of rice dumplings called tsukimi- dango . Seasonal products are also presented to the moon. The full offer sweet potatoes, and the growing month of October - beans or nuts. From these gifts, alternative names for the celebration were formed: Imomeygetu (“potato harvest Month”) and Mamemeytsu (“legume harvest Month”) or Kurimeigetsu (“chestnut harvest month”).
Content
History
Tsukimi belongs to the Japanese tradition of celebrating the harvest months. It is believed that the custom went from the Japanese aristocrats during the Heian period, who got together to read poems under the full moon of the eighth month on the solar calendar, known as the "Mid-Autumn Month". Since ancient times, the Japanese have depicted the eighth solar month (September, respectively, according to the Gregorian calendar ) as the best time to admire the Moon, because due to the relative position of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon, the latter shone especially brightly. On full moon evenings, according to tradition, people should gather in a place where the Month is clearly visible, decorate the dwellings with Japanese miscanthus and serve on the table white rice (tsukimi-dango) dumplings, taro, edamame, chestnuts and other seasonal food, as well as sake, offering them A month to pray for a bountiful harvest. These dishes together are called tsukimi dishes (月 見 料理 tsukimi ryōri). Due to the wide spread among these dishes of sweet potatoes and taro in some parts of Japan, the tradition was named Imomeygetu (芋 名 月) - “Potato Yielding Month”.
In the period from 862 to 1683, the Japanese calendar was designed so that the full moon fell on the 13th day of each month. However, in 1684, the calendar was changed so that the new moon falls on the first day of each month, in which case the full moon occurs after two weeks on the 15th day of the month. Some people in Edo (present-day Tokyo) moved their celebration to Tsukimi on the 15th day of the month, but others continued to hold the festival on the 13th day. Moreover, in some regions of Japan, various contemplations took place on the 17th day of the month, as did the Buddhist contemplation on the 23rd or 26th day, all of which were used as an excuse for frequent long-lasting late night holidays during the fall during the Edo period . This custom was quickly brought to an end in the Meiji period .
In Japan, the festivals dedicated to the moon have a long history. During the Heian period, elements of the Japanese Mid-Autumn Festival were brought to Japan. Members of the aristocratic class spent admiring the Moon in boats to see the reflection of the Moon on the surface of the water. Element of such celebrations was also the compilation of poems tank .
In Japanese, there are specific terms to refer to such cases when the traditional evening of the middle of the month of the Moon is not visible: these are, for example, Mugetsu (無 月, "moonless") and Ugetu (月, "rain-moon"). Even when the moon was not visible, Tsukim was still celebrated.
Related food
The tradition of Tsukimi provides for bringing Zukimi-Dango and seasonal products to the table, as mentioned above. In addition, there are a few dishes that are associated with Tsukimi.
Boiled soba noodles or udon , sprinkled with nori and raw eggs on top, and then poured with meat broth, called respectively tsukimi-soba and tsukimi-udon. In Northern Kyushu, eggs break on top of yak-udon and this dish is called temmado - another name for Tsukimi in the local dialect. Similarly, when a raw quail egg is broken into sushi (for example, sushi, gunkandzushi or temaki), this is referred to as the style of Tsukimi.
In some Japanese fast foods during September and October, they offer a special autumn menu, which includes sandwiches with scrambled eggs - tsukimi burgers.
See also
- Chuseok - Korean Autumn Festival, which is held on the same day
- The Mid-Autumn Festival is a Chinese festival of admiring the Moon, which is held on the same day.
Links
Literature
- Colleen Smith (September 25, 2015). "Where to view the harvest moon?". The Denver Post.