Living in Paris and communicating with foreign people, I often get asked about Japanese culture and culinary. Unfortunately, it was difficult to answer it because I haven't had enough opportunities to explain it. so that I decided to describe Japanese culture and culinary traditions via Note. I am not fluent in English, please go easy on me.

The first theme is "Nanakusa-Gayu".

Japanese have a culinary tradition of "Nanakusa-Gayu" which is a rice gruel containing seven herbs. Japanese have eaten Nanakusa-Gayu on 7th January every year. We need to recover their stomach and digestion system by simple herbal rice gruel because we eat a lot while a new year day which is an important holiday for us.

it is said that the seven herbs may drive out evil spirits due to they sprout out while earlier spring. The seven herbs are,

Seri(Japanese parsley)
Nazuna(kind of canola flower)
Gogyo(kind of chrysanthemum)
Hakobera (kind of chickweed)
Hotokenoza(Japanese nipplewort)
Suzuna(a young turnip)
Suzusiro(a young Japanese white radish)

Although the combination of herbs is different as a region, they have been thought fortune herbs because it ushers people to come a new year.

It was difficult to get all herbs in the past, but Japanese people can get it in a supermarket in recent years.

It is interesting that while Europe country celebrates on 6th January as eating the galette des rois, Japanese eat herbal simple rice grue (which is so low calorie and healthy) on next day. I respect both culinary traditions, so I propose that we eat the galette des rois on 6th January, then we eat Nanakusa-Gayu on next day. It would be good for our heal and respect for tradition definitely!