Osechi Oshougatsu

Kimonobox · 10 January 2010 · 1 min read · 1,074 views · Good to know ↓

Good to know

Osechi (New Year food): good to know

Checked October 2026 · next check January 2027

Added by Shibuya246, separate from the original post above. Facts are checked every quarter against the sources below.

What it is: Special New Year dishes that wish for family safety and good health. The word once covered food for all five seasonal festivals (gosekku).
When: Eaten at New Year (shogatsu). Department stores start taking orders months ahead.
Then and now: Many dishes are puns. Kuromame (black beans) wish for hard, healthy work, kazunoko (herring roe) for a growing family, and konbu-maki (kelp rolls) for joy (yorokobu).
Where to buy it: Department stores sell boxed sets. For New Year 2027, Sogo & Seibu has a four-tier box at ¥23,220, the same price as last year.

Best time

Eaten over the first days of January.