【Reading】すしのひ

【English Name】Sushi Day

"Sushi Day" is a memorial day designated each year on November 1. It is said to have been established in 1961 (Showa 36) by the National Federation of Sushi Trade Sanitation Associations (Zenkoku Sushisho Seikatsu Eisei Dogyo Kumiai Rengokai).

Behind the choice of November lies its connection with shimotsuki, the old lunar-calendar alias for the eleventh month. It is said this month was chosen because, with the harvest season arrived, newly harvested rice came onto the market, and rice suited to the vinegared rice essential to sushi became available. Also, one theory holds that the etymology of shimotsuki is oshimono-no-tsuki (month of foods), connecting it to gratitude for the harvest.

There are various theories about why the date became the 1st, but one well-known account links it to the "sushiya" (sushi shop) scene that appears in the kabuki play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura. In the play a story unfolds involving Taira no Koremori and "Igami no Gonta," and one interpretation holds that November 1 was chosen after the day on which Koremori went into hiding.

On this day, campaigns and events are often held at sushi restaurants throughout the country, and efforts aimed at spreading and raising awareness of sushi culture continue.