Toso
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2013) |
Toso(Đồ tô),oro-toso,isspicedmedicinalsaketraditionally drunk duringJapanese New Yearcelebrations.Tosois also known historically in China.
Culture
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Toso is drunk to flush away the previous year's maladies and to aspire to lead a long life. For generations it has been said that "if one person drinks this his family will not fall ill; if the whole family does no-one in the village will fall ill" and has been a staple part of New Year'sosechicuisine in Japan.[1]
Toso is written using twokanji:Tôrepresenting evil spirits andĐồmeaning to slaughter.
Toso is made by combining several medicinal herbs to formtososan(Đồ tô tán),a spicy mixture, which is then soaked in sake ormirin.If made withmirin,essentially a sweet sake, it is suitable for drinking, but using fermented mirin seasoning would not be appropriate as it is too salty.
Three sizes of cup, calledsakazuki(Bôi)(see picture), are used starting with the smallest and passed round with each family member or guest taking a sip. Drinking rituals differ by region, but in formal situations would proceed from youngest to eldest. This tradition originated in China in hope for children to grow faster whereas their elders to age slower. However, in Japan, around the beginning of theMeijiorShōwaperiods, custom changed and the head of the household usually takes the first drink.
The tradition of drinking toso at the New Year began in theTang dynastyin China and was adopted by Japanese aristocrats during theHeian period.The first cup drunk would be made with tososan and the second and third cups with different varieties calledbyakusanandtoshōsan.
The drinking ceremony finally passed to the general public and doctors would give out tososan. Even today some chemists shops have retained the custom and give tososan away as a free gift at the end of the year.[1]
The custom is now mainly limited toKansaiand west Japan; in other regions celebratoryo-tosoat New Year is often plain sake without tososan.
Ingredients
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The recipe is said to have originated as a prescription of the famous Chinese physicianZhang Zhongjingduring theEastern Hanperiod.
Ingredients have changed somewhat over time; some of the original Chinese ones were deemed at one point or another to be too potent for casual consumption. Nowadays it is typically made fromJapanese pepper,asiasari radix,apiaceae,cinnamon,driedginger,atractylodesJaponica,Chinese bellflowerandrhubarb,amongst others.[1]
Sources
[edit]- Primarily translated from theJapanese Wikipedia articleas of 6 January 2007.
- ^abcGaunter, John."Seasonal Sipping".Metropolis Tokyo. Archived fromthe originalon 21 January 2007.Retrieved6 January2007.
See also
[edit]External links
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Media related toTosoat Wikimedia Commons
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