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Sunday, November 1 (archive)

Today in Japan

Watercolor of a cup and pot of black tea, blank Japanese thread-bound books and a folding fan, and nigiri sushi with autumn maple leaves

What day is it?

  1. 1983年制定Black Tea Day紅茶の日

    The Japan Tea Association made November 1st Black Tea Day in 1983. It's linked to Daikokuya Kodayu, a ship captain who drifted to Russia after a storm. He met Empress Catherine the Great in 1791, and it's believed he was invited to her tea party around this time. He's said to be the first Japanese person to drink black tea at a formal tea party abroad.

  2. 2012年制定Classics Day古典の日

    Classics Day was set by a law passed in 2012. The date comes from the diary of Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tale of Genji. On the 1st day of the 11th month in 1008, by the old calendar, she wrote that a guest at a banquet jokingly asked whether a character from her story was there. This is the earliest date that proves the tale already existed.

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  3. 1961年制定Sushi Dayすしの日

    Sushi Day was set in 1961 by a national federation of sushi shop owners. They chose November 1st because it's the season of new rice, and many kinds of seafood are fatty and tasty in late fall. It also makes a good excuse to go out for sushi.

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If someone asks you

Q

Do Japanese people eat sushi every day?

A

No, not every day. For most families, sushi is something a little special, like a weekend treat or something for a birthday or a celebration. Conveyor-belt sushi made it much cheaper and easier, so lots of people go there with their kids. At home, people often make simpler kinds, like hand rolls or scattered sushi in a bowl.

In season Napa cabbage 白菜 Hakusai, or napa cabbage, is said to get sweeter as the weather turns cold, and it's at its best from late fall through winter. It's a must in nabe, or hot pot, where it soaks up the soup. People also pickle it with salt. A whole head is big and heavy, so supermarkets often sell it cut into halves or quarters. Micro-season 53 of 72 霎時施こさめときどきふる Light Rain Comes and Goes Short showers pass through and stop again. Japanese has a special word, shigure, for this late-autumn rain that never settles into a real downpour.

Phrase of the day

Would you like milk or lemon in your tea?

Sentence of the day

November 1st is Black Tea Day, Classics Day and Sushi Day in Japan. It's a good day to talk about how a castaway in Russia, a court diary from 1008 and the season of new rice all ended up on the same date.

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Sources

Earlier days