It's Eel Day / Doyō no Ushi no Hi -- What is Eel Day? (Patreon)

Doyō no Ushi no Hi (土用の丑の日) or Midsummer Day of the Ox.

Doyō (土用) is the period of 18-ish days before the first day of spring, summer, fall, and winter. Ushi no hi (丑の日) is the Day of the Ox which moves throughout the year in 12-day cycles. Okay.

So it goes to reason that Doyō no Ushi no Hi then is the Ox Day that falls during the Doyō time periods. It gets more interesting. I promise. We're going to talk about eels!

Now keep in mind all this is also based on the old, lunar calendar. But don't worry even Japanese people don't know any of these days intuitively and rely on TV, newspapers, neighbors, or signs at the supermarket to clue them in on when it is.

Case in point,

The above is the display I saw when I walked into the supermarket the other day.

So, of all the Doyō no Ushi no His, the most important is during the summer. This year it falls on July 30. Today, actually! But what's so special about it? Well, as you can guess from the above photo: EELS!

You're supposed to eat some and theoretically by doing so you keep up your stamina up in the hot summer months.

There are different stories, but the popular one is that the practice started in the Edo Era (1603--1867), probably when a doctor named Hiraga Gennai made the bold statement -- that eating them would make you "genki" -- because he wanted to boost the sales of an unpopular eel restaurant. Which it did, I suppose. The idea really took off.

Now in Japan, more eel is sold on the summer Doyō no Ushi no Hi than any other day.

The belief actually was that eating any food that begins with "U" would keep your strength up and keep you from getting sick. U coming from "U"shi in "Ushi no hi.

Here are some goodies you can enjoy:

Unagi = eel

Umeboshi = pickled plums

Udon noodles

And beef, which is gyūniku in Japanese. This doesn't start with "U," but "ushi" does: Cow.

Some other "U" delicacies are, daikon radish, suika (watermelon), kabocha (pumpkin) ... which you'll notice none start with the sound "U," but they are all listed under the category "uri" or gourd!  Psyche! But it doesn't stop there. Because ushi is related to the north direction* and the god of the north is Genbu (玄武) who just happens to be a deity whose color is black, eating foods that are black on this day is also health and stamina inducing.

These would include: black beans, black sesame seeds, clams, and eggplants (purple, but close!)

Now, very sadly, eels are on the endangered list. The prices have probably quadrupled since I had eel over a decade or so ago. I like the little fellas and don't want to eat them all up. But I am a sucker for tradition.

And there must be more like me because I noticed this year for the first time they had SWEETS sold right next to the cooler of eel.

*The Ushi direction is actually North/North-east, about thirty degrees to the east of true north, but...

They're soft and cake-like with some red bean paste and mochi inside.

(Note: Super gross story at the bottom involving an eel. I just heard it the other day but wanted to share. It's a fascinating bit of old culture, actually. Skip if you don't like gross. I'll give a heads up.) 

But before that some old artwork with eels:

Fanning the charcoals while grilling eel. This method is still practiced today. Exactly. Except the person grilling the eel will almost surely be wearing pants. 

Preparing eel.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) Feisty Eel.

Hokusai. Yappari Hokusai. Just love the movement in this one. 

A Mythical image of cleaning and grilling unagi (eel), wait, what?  Zoom in. 

They are little dragons! More specifically, the infamous, Yamata no Orochi.

Potentially, gross story coming up!

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So I was talking to some friends and one lady said she can't eat eel. I've never heard anyone who can't eat it, so I asked why and she said when she was a little girl her father would catch eels, clean them on the cutting board, and while their hearts were still beating eat them! He said it gave him energy. Quite ancient way of thinking, that. 

Okay, everyone, stay well,

Uncannily yours,

t