Hi, this is Chiaki, the interpreter.
On January 7th, I had the seven herb rice porridge for my lunch.
In Japan, people eat the seven herb rice porridge or ‘nanakusa-gayu’ on the morning of January 7th.
That’s why I had it at the restaurant near my office.
The seven herb rice porridge was introduced from China and then became popular in Japan by Edo period. Its original intention is to protect oneself against evils and invite good luck and longevity by eating the seven herbs that endure the cold winter.
The seven herbs arewater dropwort, shepherd’s purse, cudweed, chickweed, henbit, turnip and daikon radish.
We can buy a bug of them at the supermarket around this time of the year.
