Nanakusa-Gayu: New Year’s Porridge Explained
Across Japan at the start of January each year, packs of ‘nanakusa’ appear in supermarkets and in shops and are around for less than a week. They are a special combination designed only for Nanakusa-gayu rice porridge. Nanakusa-gayu is a seven-herb rice porridge eaten in Japan on January 7 each year. But why is it eaten and how? Let’s have a closer look at this long-standing Japanese custom.
What are the origins of Nanakusa-gayu?
The custom of eating Nanakusa-gayu is said to have begun in the Edo Period (1603-1867), related to the Five Seasonal Festivals which were celebrated by China

