The seasonality of food is very important to the Japanese because they want to savor food when it looks and tastes the best.  It is also customary for many Japanese to eat a certain dish on a particular day or a special occasion.  Osechi New Year's dishes, nanakusa gayu  seven-herb rice porridge on January 7, chimaki rice cake wrapped in a bamboo leaf on May 5 (Children's day), sekihan red bean rice on celebratory occasions, toshikoshi soba buckwheat noodle on New Year's Eve, etc.  These are just a few examples, and there must be dozens more if regional food to be had on special days are included.

Late in July, on a day of Ox in the Zodiac calendar, the Japanese eat unagi, grilled eel.  This fish is popular all year round, but it is an old tradition to eat this expensive delicacy at the height of hot, sultry summer in Japan.

This painting shows a young fishmonger at work at his storefront, facing an old shopping street in the southern city of Uji in Kyoto, Japan.  I went to his shop early to purchase unagi for my family before they were sold out.

I hope you can see, feel, smell or hear the smoke, the sizzle, the heat and the aroma.  I wanted to create a painting that would appeal to all senses, but for the taste, I can only share a recipe for charcoal-grilled unagi with tasty glazing sauce.  When it is done, put the fish over white rice and pour a little bit more sauce.  You'll see why this dish is so popular in Japan.


   
People waiting to buy unagi in Uji


Journey Home VII

Click here for a larger image of this painting.

Media: Original watercolor on paper
Image Size: 14 x 21 in.
Purchase: Please send me an email for availability.