OSECHI RYORI
or
NEW YEAR FEAST

Osechi is usually packaged in a multitiered box called juubako	I'm sorry, this is a half-eaten osechi ryori

Usually osechi ryori called just "osechi"
Osechi is a traditional special dish which is eaten
during the first three days of January.
The food is usually contained in two to five beautiful
juubako lacquer ware boxes
which can be stacked.

There are many kinds of arrangements of dishes
from one area to another,
but most of the parts are the same traditionally.
Because most of the osechi dishes have
some special meanings to bring good luck,
and since they are plays on words or puns or
imaginative meanings, they should be included.

OSECHI RYORI
dashi-maki		rolled omelette	Yellow color symbolize financial success, because in the Edo era the color of money of highest denomination was yellow.
date-maki		rolled omelette	the word date came from a name of famous daimyo. He was smart and cool. So, date-maki symbolize these qualities.
ebi		shrimp	symbol of long life, because of its crooked back
gomame -> tatsukuri		dried sweetened baby sardine	see tatsukuri
kachiguri		dried chestnut	kachi means victory or to win.
kamaboko		steamed fish- paste cake on a board	usually used in a red/pink and white combination. Red color is symbol of avoiding evil and white is a symbol of purity. The color combination implies a happy cerebration. It also symbolizes daybreak because of its shape.
kazunoko		herring roe	symbol of the prosperity of one's descendants and treasure all children, because of its yellow color and toughness.
kobu-maki		rolled kelp or seaweed	symbol of joy, because kobu is partly the homonym of yorokobu which means joy
kuri-kinton		paste of sweet chestnuts and sweet potato	wishes good business and financial luck.. The color of chestnuts is the same as the money in Edo era.
kuromame		black soybean	symbol of diligence and good health , becaise mame ( bean in Japanese) is the homonym of mame which means diligence and good health in Japanese.
Kuwai		-	-
namasu		thin sliced vinegary radish and carrot	the combination of the colour white in the radish and the color red in the carrot implies a happy cerebration.
nishime		a kind of dry simmered dish of vegetables	ex. gobo or burdock symbolizes energy because it root firmly underground.. renkon or lotus root implies hope of happiness in the future, because we can see something through the holes. Shiitake or Japanese mushrooms symbolize a career because it looks like a hat for samurai.
su-renkon		vinegared lotus root	renkon or lotus root implies hope of happiness in the future, because we can see the future through holes.
takenoko		bamboo shoot	symbol of force
tatsukuri or gomame		dried sweetened baby sardine	symbol of great crops of rice, because ta is the homonym of rice field and tsukuri means tsukuru which means make or raise in Japanese. A long time ago, dried young sardines were used as manure to enrich the rice field, so it was very important fish for rice and became a symbol of gettng good harvest and industriousness.