JCC E-Magazine August 2023

With four seasons, it means that there is something to enjoy every season. When it comes to summer in Japan, people will usually think of cooling themselves down with cold somen (thin wheat noodles) or kakigori (Japanese shaved ice dessert). However, there is another seasonal summer dish, which not everyone may know. In Japan, people also eat unagi, or freshwater eel, to make it through the hot summer. It should be noted that this is different from anago, or saltwater eel.

As for the reason behind this, we will first need to take a look at Doyo no Ushi no Hi, otherwise known as The Day of the Ox in Midsummer. This term refers to a period of about 18 days that falls around the turning point of the seasons, based on the concept of the Five Elements in Chinese philosophy as well as the 12 Chinese zodiac signs. In this case, Doyo no Ushi no Hi usually occurs in the middle of summer, and sometimes it may even fall on two days, depending on the year’s calendar.

It is said that an Edo period scholar, Hiraga Gennai, came up with the idea of eating unagi on Doyo no Ushi no Hi. This is based on a folklore that eating food, which names begin with “u”, would help to combat the summer fatigue. For example, umeboshi (pickled plum) can whet one’s appetite, udon is easy to digest, and uri (cucumber, watermelon, bitter melon) can reduce body heat. Inspired by this, Hiraga Gennai advised an unagi restaurant to use this connection in order to encourage the slow business in summer.

During the Edo period, the four most popular food were soba, sushi, tempura, and unagi. There are several reasons as to why unagi became a favourite. Firstly, people began to expand cultivating the fields, leading to freshwater eel inhabiting the wetlands formed from reclamation. At the same time, people started to eat out more during the Edo period, often eating in between work. Similar to Singapore’s hawker culture, there were also congregations of eateries, and among them were street vendors selling unagi kabayaki. Kabayaki refers to the method of preparation, which is the grilled unagi fillet that we commonly see nowadays. As the development process of soy sauce and sugar evolved, so did the seasoning for unagi. Today, many stores have their own unique sauce to season the unagi.

Unagi is nutritious with high oil content and rich in vitamin A and vitamin B. It helps to recover from fatigue and spark appetite, making it an ideal dish to improve stamina and prevent heat stroke. Thus, it was also especially satisfying for workers to consume it.

Besides unagi kabayaki, there are other ways to enjoy unagi. There is shirayaki, which is popular in Shizuoka prefecture, and the eel is broiled without any additional sauce. Another well-loved dish in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture is hitsumabushi, whereby you enjoy the eel together with various condiments and dashi (Japanese soup stock).

In Singapore, there are multiple restaurants that specialise in unagi dishes. Which style of unagi do you enjoy the most?

Jōruri machi hanka no zu, “Flourishing Business in Balladtown” (© Hiroshige Utagawa, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Resources

“Dishes Eaten on Special Occasions in Japan Feature People’s Wishes to Match Seasonal Events”. 2021. Web Japan. Accessed 17 July. https://web-japan.org/trends/11_tech-life/tec202102_event-food.html.

“Doyō no Ushi no Hi: Japan’s Midsummer Day of the Ox”. 2022. nippon.com. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01378/.

“Edo Eel and the Start of a Summer Tradition”. 2021. nippon.com. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00988/.

“Traditional Food “eel” for “Doyo no Ushi no Hi” for Surviving A Hot Summer”. 2022. SHUN GATE. https://shun-gate.com/en/power/power_99/.

“How to Enjoy Unagi, the Japanese Eel”. 2016. Central Japan Tourism Association. https://shoryudo.go-centraljapan.jp/en/special/unagi/.

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