With the coming of autumn the days begin to shorten and the nights get longer. The sun sets sooner and a slight fall chill is in the air. The full moon or Harvest Moon that arrives with the beginning of the fall season is one of the major signposts that summer is ending and autumn has arrived.
In Japan, the arrival of the Harvest Moon is called tsukimi or otsukimi. In Japan, changes of seasons are often celebrated and the coming of the Harvest Moon is marked with seasonal offerings, food and drink and the practice of “viewing the moon”. The Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon are also known as jugoya. The celebration of the full moon usually takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese calendar. Modernly, this takes place in mid to late September.
Tsukimi traditions include displaying offerings of Japanese pampas grass susuki which can be placed in a vase or some type of arrangement and offered to the moon. There are other seasonal offerings that are laid out on a table or altar facing the moon that are symbolic of the autumn harvest. Items such as sweet potatoes are often offered to the full moon while beans or chestnuts are offered later the following month when the moon begins to wane. The offerings are to honor the moon and celebrate its coming and for a good harvest and good fortune.
The common food eaten during tsukimi are mochi rice dumplings called tsukimi dango which are eaten to celebrate the beauty of the moon. The round white dumplings are eaten and resemble the full moon in shape and color. There is also an ancient Japanese folk tale that the moon is inhabited by rabbits, and that these rabbits live on the moon and pound away at sweet rice to make mochi , hence the deep craters in the moon. Many dessert cakes can be found during this time with a rabbit decoration to celebrate the harvest moon.
There are other foods that people put out to eat during the tsukimi celebration but the mochi dumplings are most common. Many restaurants also get into the spirit during this time and present harvest moon items on their menu. Even McDonalds and other fast food outlets in Japan offer items during tsukimi. At McDonalds they offer a hamburger with a fried egg on top of the hamburger patty. The egg yolk symbolizes the full moon!
There are different venues that people can attend to view the moon together throughout Japan. In Kyoto many temples are available for viewing and in Tokyo there are also viewing parties at Tokyo Tower and elsewhere. More commonly, family and/or close friends get together at a friend or relative’s house with a east facing view to best view the full moon. There is food and drink and everyone sits together and enjoys viewing the beauty of the moon together. It is a beautiful reflective celebration. When one looks at the moon they acknowledge the passing of the seasons, the beauty of the moonlight, and they share together the sense of another year coming to a close and the fruits of the harvest that have arrived.
At some harvest moon parties it has become a popular to “catch the moon” in a glass and make a wish. It is a fun and entertaining game for the party goers and often is the cause of much merriment and laughter. How this is done is that a clear liquid is poured into a glass. Usually, the clear liquid is alcohol in the form of either sake, soju or plum wine. The object is to place your glass in such a way so that the reflection of the full moon is caught in your glass. When the moon is in your glass you have “caught the moon” and you can make your wish. Once you make your wish you swallow your drink to seal the deal. It is easier said than done to catch the moon in your glass! It is fun to watch each other wandering around to get the best angle to the moon to catch the full reflection in order to make a wish.
Most wishes are for good luck and prosperity in the coming season. But one of the most common wishes among single persons is to find true love. To find that special person to be their wife or husband. You too can celebrate tsukimi during the harvest full moon. Raise your glass, catch the moon, and make your wish for true love to come to you!
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