On the fifteenth night, when the air is clear, the moon is at its most beautiful. Shrines and temples hold moon viewing rites and banquets, and the time comes for the annual harvest festival—an important event for which we make offerings to the moon and thank the gods for a plentiful crop. We spend our days delighting in the harvest’s many fruits; we want to eat with the feeling of gratitude. At Wakuden this month, we await you with a bowl of soft-shelled turtle, sea bream steamed with soba seeds, and more.
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The fierce heat continues. Local people are out on Kyoto’s streets trying to beat the heat by sprinkling water in front of their homes. August in Kyoto also means the Gozan no Okuribi, or Daimonji, a traditional Buddhist rite marking the end of the Obon festival. Five giant bonfires are lit on the mountains surrounding the city, and we press our hands together in prayer to send off the spirits of deceased family members. In the deep darkness that falls after the fires go out, we bid summer farewell and feel the first taste of autumn. This month at Wakuden you can enjoy such dishes as “conger eel and jade eggplant” and “fig with white miso bean paste.”
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July in Kyoto means the Gion Festival of Yasaka Shrine. Spectacular floats color the neighborhoods once more, and shrine activity reaches a fever pitch. When local people hear the distinctive “konkonchikichin” sounds of festival music, they know the rainy season is ending and it’s time to prepare for the intense summer heat. In honor of Gion Festival’s nickname, the “Conger Eel Festival” (Hamo Matsuri), our course at Kyoto Wakuden features such dishes as hamo sushi and stewed gourd served cold.
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