Hinamatsuri is called the Girls’ Festival.  It is celebrated on March 3rd to wish girls good health and growth.  Most families that have girls celebrate by displaying a set of beautifully dressed dolls that represent the members of the ancient imperial court of the Heian Period (794 to 1185).  The dolls are displayed on tiers of shelves. The Emperor and the Empress, called dairi-bina, are displayed on the top shelf, three ladies in waiting (sannin-kanjo) are on the second shelf, and there are five court musicians (gonin-bayahi) on the third shelf.  There are two eminent lords holding the offices of government ministers (udaijin and sadaijin) on the fourth shelf, and there are three servants below them.  Sometimes, the lower shelves also display miniature articles such as furniture, food, and tableware. The families prepares special dishes and also make offerings to the dolls including lozenge rice cakes (hishi-mochi) and white sake that is made from sake and rice malt to ! celebrate the Doll’s Festival. The Doll’s Festival is also called momo-no-sekku, which means the Peach Festival, as it is celebrated in the season when the peach blossoms bloom beautifully.

I found the interesting article about Seaweed (Kombu/Wakame/Nori). Please refer the following URL.  Nori is a skin superstar, Wakame beats the Bloat, and Kombu is the metabolism booster. Kombu is valuable for its high content of Iodine, which is needed to produce two important thyroid hormones that control the metabolism. And also, there is a pigment in Kombu called “Fucoxanthin” , which may boost production of a protein involved in fat metabolism.  Kombu has good nutrition and the reason why we call Kombu “King of Seaweed”.

http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/mao-shing-ni-lac-dom-phd/seaweed-miracle-vegetable-sea

Kombu is rich in Umami.  There are various umami foods all over the world. Please check the following Umami map and take a look the article; http://www.umamiinfo.com/

Japanese New Year’s food is called osechi-ryori, and colorful dishes are packed in layers of lacquer boxes, called jubako. The kinds of osechi dishes prepared at Japanese homes vary from region to region. Common dishes are kobumaki (simmered kombu rolls), kuromame (simmered black soy beans), kurikinton (mashed sweet potato with sweet chestnuts), tazukuri (candied dried sardines), and so on. Gobo (burdock), renkon (lotus roots), shrimps are often used ingredients. Also, various zoni (mochi rice cake soup) are commonly eaten during the holiday.

Each dish and ingredient in osechi has meanings, such as good health, good harvest, happiness, prosperity, long life, and so on. It’s said that yellow colored dishes and ingredients such as kazunoko (herring roe) symbolize prosperity and that various beans (mame) imply a wish for good health. Also, red/pink and white colored food, such as pink and white kamaboko (fish cake) slices represent celebration colors.

Traditionally, people finish preparing osechi dishes by New Year’s Eve so that they have food for a couple days. Nowadays, many people buy ready-made osechi dishes at stores instead of cooking them at home. It can be time-consuming to cook so many kinds of dishes. It’s even possible to order osechi-ryori packed in boxes at department stores, grocery stores, or convenience stores in Japan. These standard Osechi are in the range of $100-300.

Here you can see a votive, an ema. Originally people donated a living horse to Shinto shrine. And later people donated a picture of a horse. Ema literally means “picture of horse”. Here you can see the word gokaku, which means “passing a exam”. In Japan, entrance exams are quite difficult. Usually younger people are not religious, but before an exam, students become religious and donate a lot of tablets.

Please try to eat our “Seaweed Salad ON THE GO”, the main ingredients are Wakame, Wakame stem,  and Kombu.  Seaweed  prevent constipation because of the fiber contents.  Please take a look the following article;

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5187349_wakame-seaweed_.html

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2766/2

Our new product “Seaweed Salad ON THE GO” is ready at Amazon.com! Please try it.

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Delight-Seaweed-Salad-0-9-Ounce/dp/B005JXHHBS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317946932&sr=8-1

Japanese people loves to eat Kombu(seaweed) and get plenty of  “Iodine”. Do you get enough “Iodine” from daily meal? Please take a look the following article:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller20.html

If you live in the inland area, you need to get iodine from something like Kombu seaweeed. Even people live in the coast area like HK, most them lack “iodine”. Please take a look this article.

http://english.sina.com/life/2011/0713/380921.html

I found the blog that treated our product “Japanese Delight” Vegetarian Garlic Soy Sauce. Please take a look!

http://www.thenervouscook.com/2011/07/see-weeds-seaweed.html