Why do we drink amazake during the New Year holidays?

December 29, 2022

hello everyone!

I'm Tanaka from "Kome Dreaming ~GIFT & CRAFT Mita~".

There are only a few days left this year!

It's fast. Really fast.

Personally, this year I was more dedicated to work than usual, so it felt like it went by faster.

Komedoriming (nicknamed Komedori) also began work on its renewal before the summer, and is finally on track to open a new store.

With each passing day, I realize that this is all thanks to the support we receive from our stakeholders and customers.

Just a few minutes' walk from the new store is Zojoji Temple, one of the most famous temples in Tokyo.

While I was planning the New Year for our new store, a childhood memory of "New Year + temple = amazake" came back to me, so I decided to write an article about it.

① Why do we serve amazake at the beginning of the year?

To put it simply, there doesn't seem to be any clear, "this is it!" reason.

The website of the Association of Shinto Shrines, which oversees all 80,000 shrines across the country, explains that "many shrines offer offerings around the time of the first shrine visit of the year to help worshippers keep warm."

Also, as I wrote in a previous article ( https://tinyurl.com/2zk38yco ), amazake has been popular because it was originally a summer drink.

It is known for being gentle on the stomach and packed with nutrition, but its origins are said to date back to the Kofun period, and one theory is that it may have originated from ``ama no tamusake,'' a sweet sake mentioned in the historical book ``Nihon Shoki.''

It is recorded that this "Ten-Ten Sake" was offered to the gods at the Niiname-sai festival, and it seems that Amazake has a deep connection with shrines.

Source: https://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp/omairi/gyouji/amazake

Therefore, "It's cold, so we want worshippers to warm themselves up with nutritious amazake."

The most likely reason is that "historically, shrines and amazake have had a deep connection."

② Conclusion

This time I wrote about the relationship between amazake and shrines.

Many people will be busy around the New Year holidays, so please make sure you eat well and have fun.

This was staff member Tanaka!

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