Japanese custom eat Ehomaki in Sestubun

3rd of Feb. is “Setsubun” in Japan.
If you missed my blog about Stsubun, please click here!

In setsubun, we eat “Ehomaki”.

Ehomaki is a long sushi roll which you eat all in one go on the night of Setsubun,
while facing silently toward the year’s “lucky” direction with your eyes closed,
wishing for perfect health and praying for prosperity of business.

You make ehomaki with seven ingredients, cucumber, shiitake mushrooms, seasoned omelet, teriyaki eel,
sweet fish flakes and kanpyo are rolled in seaweed representing the seven gods of happiness.
By doing so, people hope to bring happiness into their lives.

Actually, ehomaki had long been eaten in the Kansai area but the reason why it spread throughout Japan was, surprisingly, due to a sales-promotion by convenience stores in the early ’90s!
Also, research shows that 60 percent of people in the Kanto area still don’t eat ehomaki.

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