Matsuri

Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2004 9:31 PM
Subject: Weekly Email

This week was the Summer Matsuri (festival) at the offices where I work. They carry a portable Shinto shrine called the Mikoshi around the block after drinking sake. Then you drink more sake and eat a lot while having a party. At the party you do traditional things like pounding rice with a huge wooden mallet and then making it into a rice ball desert. Or you stack cups into pyramids and the first one to finish gets a toy Winnie the Pooh bear. That pretty well describes it. So attached is a picture of the Mikoshi - note the traditional blond hair style of the one guy carrying it (just kidding).

The heat has been oppressive. It got up to 100 degrees on the day before the summer solstice. On that day, you are supposed to eat "unagi" which is a type of eel. I asked my secretary about this but couldn't really understand - it is supposed to give you strength on really hot days or something. According to my secretary, the eel is imported from China because "Japanese eel is too expensive". I think it is fresh water eel but I am not sure. The eel they serve in the sushi shop is conger eel and is called anago.

Hope you are all well. Stay out of the heat if you aren't able to get any unagi...