Menu & Greetings献立・ご挨拶

９月９日は重陽ですが、新暦の頃はまだまだ暑さが残っています。本来、重陽の節句は本暦九月九日に行われていました。今年は、１０月１９日が本暦九月九日にあたります。菊の花も本来の美しい姿を見せてくれる頃と重なります。柏屋では、菊づくしの料理を本暦の頃に合わせ寒露から霜降の頃に、ご用意いたします。

端午に飾った薬玉(くすだま)の飾りは厳しい夏を無事に越え役目も終わります。そして次は、茱萸袋(ぐみぶくろ)に掛け替えられます。本来は、九月九日の重陽の前夜に掛け替えるものですが、柏屋ではお料理が変わる日に合わせて掛け替えています。茱萸袋を掛ける度に「またこの季節が巡ってきた」としみじみと過ぎゆく季(とき)を感じます。

茱萸袋は、中国の「高きに登る」という習慣に由来します。九月九日に茱萸を詰めた袋を腰にして高所に登る習慣がありました。そこで菊酒を飲み、物を食べると長寿を得ると信じられていました。これが日本に伝わり宮中行事に取り入れられ王朝貴族たちは茱萸袋を仕立て重陽の節供の飾りとしました。

September 9 is known as Chōyō, the Chrysanthemum Festival. However, under the Gregorian calendar, the heat of summer still lingers at this time of year. Traditionally, Chōyō was celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth month according to the traditional lunisolar calendar. This year, that date falls on October 19.

This also coincides with the time when chrysanthemums begin to reveal their full and beautiful form. At Kashiwaya, we prepare a menu centered around chrysanthemums from Cold Dew to Frost Descent, in keeping with the traditional timing of Chōyō.

The kusudama ornament that was displayed from Tango, the Boys’ Festival, has fulfilled its purpose after carrying us safely through the harsh summer. It is then replaced with a gumi-bukuro, a small pouch filled with Japanese pepper berries.

Traditionally, the gumi-bukuro would be hung on the eve of Chōyō, on the eighth day of the ninth month. At Kashiwaya, however, we change the ornament when the menu changes with the season. Each time we hang the gumi-bukuro, we are reminded, with a quiet sense of nostalgia, that another season has come around and that time continues to pass.

The custom of the gumi-bukuro originates from the Chinese tradition of “climbing to higher ground.” On the ninth day of the ninth month, people would place pouches filled with Japanese pepper berries around their waists and climb to high places. There, they would drink chrysanthemum wine and eat food, believing that doing so would bring them longevity.

*Cold Dew / Frost Descent : The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms. “Cold Dew” is the 17th solar term and begins on October 8, 2026. “Frost Descent” is the 18th solar term and begins on October 23, 2026.