Food and the Heart

5

For this reason, I am particularly grateful for the nationwide simultaneous collection effort and hold high expectations for its many outcomes. If this report, unfortunately, fails to fully satisfy people's desires, I aim to highlight as many unresolved issues as possible in order to encourage further similar efforts in the future.

simultaneous（形）同時におこなわれる

unresolved（形）未解決の

During the mourning period, those who consumed food connected to the deceased eventually needed to part ways with the deceased and return to their normal lives. This transition also involves a distinct ritual, which is commonly referred to today as the "Shijūkunichi mochi" (49th-day rice cake). It is unclear when the practice of marking the end of this period, known as Shōjin-age or Yama-agari, on the 49th day began, but it has become a widespread custom in Japan. Originally, this period was fifty days, but it seems to have evolved into forty-nine days due to the tradition of performing Buddhist rites every seven days. On reaching the final day, a ceremony called Kuiwakare is held. This ritual varies slightly by region. Generally, rice cakes are pounded and divided into forty-nine pieces. Nowadays, the rice cake is often cut into forty-nine pieces, but this specific number was likely established later. Previously, it was probably distributed among the living attendees of the funeral. In central Japan, this rice cake is sent to the family’s temple, but in peripheral regions, it is customarily eaten by the deceased’s close relatives. For instance, in Ōmagari, Ugo Province, the household that conducted the funeral sends messengers to relatives and neighbors to collect the rice cake on the 49th day. There are specific methods for dividing the rice cake: cutting it with the bottom of a square wooden cup, cutting it on the lid of a pot, pulling it apart between two people, roasting and eating it on the same day, or seasoning it with miso and salt before eating. These customs are unique to the handling of this 49th-day rice cake. People generally avoid using these methods for rice cake on ordinary days because of their association with this funeral ritual. Children often enjoyed counting the small mochi pieces, but in some households, they were scolded or admonished for doing so. This was likely a remnant of the practice of distributing just enough mochi to match the number of people who needed to eat it.

peripheral（形）周辺的な

admonish（動）戒める

remnant（名）残余物

In the Kinki and Chūgoku regions, the 49th-day rice cake is also called "Kasa no Mochi (hat rice cake)" because a large round rice cake is placed on top of forty-nine smaller rice cakes, resembling a hat. In Suruga, this is referred to as Oya Mochi ("parent rice cake"). In Arida District, Kii Province, Kasa no Mochi does not include forty-nine smaller rice cakes; instead, it is cut into smaller pieces and eaten with salt. Generally, this type of rice cake is considered food for the deceased. However, in the Kyushu region, particularly around Saga Prefecture, the large, stacked rice cake is offered to Amida Buddha, while the forty-nine smaller cakes are offered to the newly deceased. Later, the large rice cake is broken into pieces, and those fragments, along with two of the smaller cakes, are distributed to relatives. The exact reason this rice cake is referred to as such in this region remains unclear. In Okayama Prefecture, the custom involves making only three rice cakes on this day. One represents the top of the skull, and the other two represent the shins. These are placed on the base of an inverted square wooden cup, and visitors are invited to take small pieces from each of the three rice cakes to eat. This act is referred to as "removing the nails stuck in the deceased," which likely carries a connotation of severing ties.

shin（名）すね

The above describes rituals performed on the 49th day following a death, but in Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture, a similar ceremony is carried out on the day of the funeral. It is likely that two rituals, originally meant to be performed on separate occasions, have been combined into one. However, without comparing examples from distant and nearby regions, it is difficult to make a definitive conclusion. Currently documented practices involve making four white rice cakes called 'yotsu mochi' from one shō (approximately 1.8 liters) of non-glutinous rice. Any remaining rice cake is used to separate forty-nine smaller rice cakes, which are skewered, coated with miso, and grilled. These are then shared with all attendees of the funeral, with the belief that eating them prevents colds. The closest blood relatives of the deceased, such as siblings, take the yotsu mochi to the new grave, where they pull and tear the rice cakes apart before throwing the pieces backward over their shoulders. They then leave without looking back. As a result, pulling rice cakes between siblings is strictly taboo in this region during ordinary times. While it may be too early for close relatives, who are most affected by the impurity of death, to perform a "Kuikakare" ritual the day after the funeral, delaying such a farewell ceremony for ordinary attendees would be inconvenient. Thus, the ritual on the funeral day likely evolved. The yotsu mochi is undoubtedly considered food for the deceased. But, in earlier times, when temporary structures called moya were erected to house the body, the children or siblings of the deceased may have consumed these rice cakes near the grave. As customs changed, and relatives began returning to the village with the other attendees instead of remaining at the gravesite, the act of throwing the rice cakes backward was introduced as a modification of the practice.

definitive（形）決定的な

skewer（動）串に刺す

attendee（名）出席者

farewell（名）告別

undoubtedly（副）疑いようなく

However, the ritual of dividing rice cakes at the gravesite was not always performed on the 49th day after death in all regions. For example, in the Shikoku region, particularly in villages along the Seto Inland Sea in Ehime Prefecture, families gather at the grave of a recently deceased relative on the night between the last Mi-no-hi (Day of the Snake) and Uma-no-hi (Day of the Horse) in December. This gathering, referred to as Mishogatsu or Kannichi, involves lighting a fire at the gravesite, roasting rice cakes, and siblings pulling the rice cakes apart together. This would have been a way to have a last meal with the dead before the official New Year, clean themselves up, return to normal people, and break free from the dead. The foundation of our traditional beliefs about the impurity associated with death lay in communal eating. Both the entry into and the exit from the period of defilement required special dietary rituals. While the evidence is limited, the remaining materials suggest that this practice was once integral to our customs surrounding death.

integral（形）不可欠の