A Bowl of Renewal: Nanakusa-gayu

#japan

A Bowl of Renewal: Nanakusa-gayu on January 7th

Today marks Jinjitsu no Sekku (人日の節句)—the Festival of Humanity, one of the five sacred seasonal festivals in Japan. And with it comes one of the gentlest traditions in the Japanese calendar: nanakusa-gayu, the seven herbs rice porridge.

There's something almost paradoxical about this dish. After the richness of osechi-ryori, the toasts of sake, and the festive indulgence of the New Year period, we return to something deliberately plain. A simple rice porridge with seven wild herbs. Steam rising from a bowl in the morning.

The Seven Herbs: A Poem You Can Eat

The seven spring herbs (haru no nanakusa) have been memorized for generations through a 5-7-5-7-7 waka rhythm—the same meter as classical Japanese poetry:

Seri, nazuna

Gogyō, hakobera

Hotoke no za

Suzuna, suzushiro

Kore zo nanakusa

In English, these translate roughly to:

Seri (芹) — Japanese parsley / water dropwort
Nazuna (薺) — shepherd's purse
Gogyō (御形) — Jersey cudweed
Hakobera (繁縷) — chickweed
Hotoke no za (仏の座) — henbit / nipplewort
Suzuna (菘) — turnip
Suzushiro (蘿蔔) — daikon radish

The fact that this knowledge persists as poetry rather than a mere list tells you something Japanese culture, it's much easier to memorize something when it's a poem or song. My daughter asked if I knew this saying, as she rattled it off. I replied "you grew up here" but it was kind of a weak response, so I'm writing this as a kind of penance.

Little Cultural Aspects Make a Life

Some might dismiss nanakusa-gayu as a quaint relic, an optional tradition in an age of convenience store breakfasts and global cuisine. And technically, yes—skipping it won't end your world.

But here's my view: culture is the world we live in. It's the accumulated texture of human experience, the small rituals that transform mere existence into something richer. The difference between a life with nanakusa-gayu and one without isn't life or death, but to me, it's far more interesting to have small traditions like this.

When you sit down to a bowl of herb porridge on January 7th, you're participating in something that stretches back over a thousand years to Heian-era aristocrats, who themselves adapted it from Chinese traditions even older. You're not just having breakfast—you're briefly touching the same moment that countless generations have touched before you. I think it's pretty cool.

Speaking of culture, the current season in the 72 microseasons of Japan also reference parsley:

芹乃栄 Seri sunawachi sakau, Parsley flourishes

The Practical Wisdom

The traditional explanation holds that nanakusa-gayu "wards off evil spirits and prevents all illness" (jaki wo harai manbyō wo nozoku).

The modern interpretation? Your stomach probably needs a break after a week of festive eating, and these early spring greens provide vitamins and minerals that heavy New Year dishes lack. Both explanations point to the same wisdom: reset, restore, begin again.

Make It Your Own

Here's something freeing: you don't need to source all seven traditional herbs. The spirit of the dish matters more than botanical exactness. Use what's in your refrigerator—spinach, mitsuba, komatsuna, or whatever greens are fresh and available. Create your own original nanakusa-gayu. But also note, you can buy a "nanakusa set" of these greens at typical supermarkets, to chop up yourself.

And if you use leftover rice from your freezer? You're honoring another Japanese value: mottainai, the reduction of waste. The old traditions and modern sustainability turn out to walk the same path.