Celebrating Risshun

Risshun (立春), which typically falls around February 4, marks the first of the 24 solar terms on the traditional Japanese calendar and signals the beginning of spring.

Yet early February is still among the coldest times of the year. Celebrating Risshun gives us a sense of hope—an assurance that warmer days are on their way.

By mid-February, the first signs of early spring begin to appear. Sweet, fragrant ume (plum blossoms) open, and we bundle up to venture out for ume-mi, the season’s first blossom viewing, in gardens and parks.

The Setsubun Ritual

On the day before Risshun, we take part in the Setsubun (節分) ritual to purify the home and pray for a healthy, successful year ahead. The tradition involves throwing roasted soybeans inside the house while chanting, ‘Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!’ to drive out oni (misfortune and illness) and invite fuku (good fortune).

I remember my parents saying we should eat one bean for each year of our age, plus one extra for good health in the coming year. In reality, we never managed to eat that many dry-roasted beans at once—they were not so tasty and too harsh on the stomach.

Since moving to America, I’ve sadly fallen out of the habit of practicing Setsubun. It just doesn’t quite fit the rhythm of life in my new environment.

My Favorite Kanazawa Sweet (Chitose)

I was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, a region once governed by the Maeda clan—the second-most powerful feudal lords after the Tokugawa during the Edo period (1600–1868). Under the prosperous Maeda domain, Kanazawa, flourished as a center of refined art and culture, earning its nickname ‘Little Kyoto.’

Among the city’s many elegant regional okashi (Japanese sweets), the 400-year-old Chitose from Morihachi Confectionery Company remains especially memorable.

‘Chitose’ translates to ‘a thousand years,’ and the sweet consists of silky adzuki bean paste, lightly sweetened with rice syrup, wrapped in an exquisitely tender mochi sheet and dusted with fine powdered sugar. The sweets are traditionally paired in white and soft reddish-pink, colors that make them a favorite for celebratory occasions throughout the year.

Umebachi: My Mother’s Family Crest

Though Chitose has no direct connection to plum blossoms, its delicate appearance always reminded me of a white-and-red-pink ume flower. I dream of savoring Chitose while admiring the gentle beauty of blooming ume.

I have always loved my mother’s family crest, the kamon (家紋). Hers is the Umebachi (梅鉢) crest, a design of five larger circles arranged in a pentagon around a smaller central circle, resembling a plum blossom viewed from above.

Japan has more than 20,000 family crests and over 100 variations of plum-blossom design alone.

February Recipes

The best meals to enjoy during this cold month are nabemono (鍋物), or hot pot dishes. In nabemono, we cook an assortment of raw or partially cooked ingredients in a flavorful dashi or kombu-kelp stock at the table, using a large ceramic or iron pot set over a portable stove.

We cut ingredients into chopstick-friendly pieces and pre-cook some to ensure quick cooking at the table. We arrange all the ingredients beautifully on a large platter before setting it on the table along with the portable gas burner.

If you don’t have a portable gas burner, you can still enjoy this dish: cook half the ingredients in a large, shallow pot in the kitchen, ladle them into serving bowls with some of the broth, and bring them to the table. Then return to the kitchen to cook the remaining ingredients for a second round.

Still too much trouble? Cook everything together in one large pot and bring the whole pot to the table to share.

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As winter slowly gives way to spring, I hope these stories and recipes bring you warmth and a sense of renewal.

Thank you for being part of this community, and please feel free to share my newsletter with anyone who may enjoy learning about Japanese food, culture, and traditions.

— Hiroko