The Day of the Ox

Sukeroku

“Sensei, the Day of the Ox is almost here.”

Junki-sensei

“Eel.”

⸻

Sukeroku

“I knew you’d say that.”

Junki-sensei

“No.

‘U.’”

⸻

Sukeroku

“‘U’?”

Junki-sensei

“Long ago,

people believed that

foods beginning with the letter ‘U’

helped them endure

the summer heat.”

⸻

Sukeroku

“So it wasn’t just eel?”

Junki-sensei

“Melon.

Plums.

Udon.

And eel.”

⸻

Sukeroku

“So if I eat them all,

I’ll be unstoppable.”

Junki-sensei

“Talk to your stomach first.”

⸻

Sukeroku

“So, what will you eat, Sensei?”

Junki-sensei

“If you’re at the market,

the answer is always the same.”

“Whatever tastes best today.”

Thirty Views from Humorous Scenes of Famous Places in Edo — Ryōgoku Yonezawa-chōUtagawa HirokagePublished by Tsujiokaya Bunsuke1859

From Humorous Scenes of Famous Places in Edo — Ryōgoku Yonezawa-chō

Courtesy of the Tokyo Metropolitan Library

Find Summer’s “U”!

When we think of Doyō no Ushi, we think of unagi—eel.

But there is an old summer custom in Japan: eating foods whose names begin with the sound “u” to help keep up your strength through the heat.

Uri. Ume. Udon. Unagi.

Walk through the market, and you may discover many more flavors beginning with “u.”

Which “u” will you choose this summer?

Something exceptional, found at the market.

Come and discover the flavors of summer.