Kikkoman Corporation

In autumn, when the air is cool and the skies are perhaps the clearest of all the year, the waxing and waning of the moon is one of Japan’s most cherished sights of the season.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the old lunar calendar (September 21 in 2002), the autumn moon shines most brilliantly against the clear skies. The moon on this particular night has a special place in Japanese tradition, and is called chushu-no-meigetsu – beautiful mid-autumn moon.

Aesthetic appreciation of the full autumn moon originated in China, a pleasure that records indicate existed as early as the Han dynasty (202 B.C.-A.D. 220). Moon-viewing became popular in the Tang dynasty (618-907). Moon-Viewing became popular in the seventh century, at a time of vigorous cultural exchange with Japan, and along with the many other aspects of Chinese culture, Japanese aristocrats began to enjoy moon-viewing, or Otsukimi.

In the capital city of Kyoto in the late eighth century, the emperor and his court continued to savor the beauty of the mid-autumn moon while drifting in small boats on ponds in the palace gardens. They composed waka poetry while listening to music played on the sho (mouth organ), koto (harp) and fue (wooden and bamboo flute).

One story relates how at one Otsukimi banquet, some courtiers bored a hole in a boiled sato-imo (taro) with a chopstick carved from a hagi (bush clover) branch. Gazing through the hole, they delighted in the illusion that the beautiful moon was theirs alone.

Tasty Offerings

Sato-imo had been introduced previously from southern China and Southeast Asia, and were a regular part of the Japanese diet; in the eighteenth century, regular offerings to the moon and gods included boiled sato-imo, and Otsukimi also became known as imo-meigetsu, or taro moon.

Another customary Otsukimi offering was tsukimi dango, small round dumplings piled in a pyramid. Rice is ground into fine flour, kneaded with hot water, steamed and then made into bite-sized dumplings. In the city of Edo (now Tokyo) these dumplings were round, but in Kyoto they were generally pinched into an elongated shape. These types of tsukimi dango are offered still, and may be coated with kinako (sweetened dried soybean powder) or adzuki-bean paste.

Otsukimi was, and is, essentially a pre-harvest festival. Enjoying the full moon and presenting offerings of boiled sato-imo, tsukimi dango and other foods and then eating them signifies a celebration of the bounty of the season. At one time, children were permitted to creep in and steal the offerings to snack on. As children were considered messengers of the gods, their snitching of the offerings was believed to promise a bountiful harvest.

Otsukimi may also be celebrated on the thirteenth night of the ninth lunar month, when the moon is not yet perfectly full. Foods customarily eaten on this night include eda-mame, young green soybeans. In some areas, eda-mame are mashed and sweetened with sugar and used to coat rice-flour dumplings.

Kuri (Chestnuts) are also available during this season, so another typical dish is kuri-okowa, glutinous rice steamed with chestnuts. The thirteenth night was often called mame-meigetsu (bean moon) or kuri-meigetsu (chestnut moon).

Celebration of the “harvest,” either at full moon or on the thirteenth night, is not an occasion for eating particularly expensive or unusual delicacies. Some traditional Japanese-style restaurants feature a special version of tamago-dofu (egg “tofu”). A custard made of egg, flavored with stock and other seasonings, is cut in the shape of a full moon, served with boiled shrimp and presented in a soup. This dish is known as maru-aki, “circle autumn,” i.e., “full-moon autumn.”

The Moon’s Mystique

In old Edo, the site for viewing the moon was usually decorated with a vase of autumn flowers including susuki (eulalia grass), hagi and ominaeshi (a yellow-flowered perennial of the family Valerianaceae). Such decorations were not originally seen in Kyoto, but today this Edo-style scene for Otsukimi is typical nationwide.

The pleasures of the season of the autumnal moon may be savored further by setting the table with chopsticks made of hagi and chopstick rests made of bundled bright red chili peppers tied with susuki fronds.

Restaurants serve sato-imo, eda-mame and chestnut dishes on the pedestalled serving dishes used since ancient times to present offerings to the gods, thus suggesting that the customer is receiving treatment appropriate for the gods. Such dining is the product of an elegant culture that incorporates the playful spirit of the ancient nobility, which prized fine sensibilities before quantity and richness.

In today’s high-tech world, all the mysteries that once surrounded the moon have been unveiled long ago. Yet the glow of a full autumn moon still bears its own mystique in Japan, evoking a sense of joy and wonder.

Author’s Profile

Ayao Okumura was born in 1937 in Wakayama Prefecture. As professor at Kobe-Yamate University, he is a specialist in traditional Japanese cuisine. Professor Okumura is also the owner of a cooking studio, Douraku-tei, and is known for his authentic reproductions of historic Japanese dishes and menus. He has authored various texts, including Himiko no Shokutaku (Yoshikawa Kobunkan).