# Osechi: Japanese New Year Food Traditions (Ep. 184)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/uncanny-japan-53805/osechi-japanese-new-year-food-traditions-ep-184
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/uncanny-japan-53805/osechi-japanese-new-year-food-traditions-ep-184.md
Podcast: [Uncanny Japan](https://stenobird.com/podcast/uncanny-japan-53805)
Published: 2025-12-09T13:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://uncannyjapan.com/podcast/osechi-japanese-new-year-food-traditions/
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/PHTE3462211460.mp3?updated=1765303391
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/uncanny-japan-53805/episodes/osechi-japanese-new-year-food-traditions-ep-184
Duration seconds: 1583

## Resource

What if the meal sitting in those beautiful lacquered boxes held messages from the gods? In Japan, osechi-ryōri isn't just New Year's food—it's a sacred offering. Each dish carries specific wishes: black beans for health, herring roe for prosperity, lotus root for clear vision into the future. Families prepare them before midnight, then rest for three days while Toshigami-sama, the deity of the coming year, visits every home. But why can't you use knives during the first three days? What happens to the kitchen god? And why do martial arts schools break open mirror-shaped mochi in January? Thersa shares her in-laws' traditions of food exchanges, the evolution from handmade to convenience store osechi, and the deeper spiritual layers beneath each symbolic dish. This episode of Uncanny Japan is brought to you by Spectrevision Radio, a podcast network of creators and entertainers with a love for horror, the paranormal, and championing the "other." Check out the rest of the podcasts at www.spectrevisionradio.com. [Please Note: Some of the links are affiliate links (both Amazon and other). This means that at no cost to you, if you use and purchase through them I receive a small compensation. This is paid by the retailer. It also helps support me and my artistic endeavors. Thank you.] Follow Uncanny Japan Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Credits Music by Julyan Ray Matsuura About SpectreVision Radio SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We're a community for creators and fans vibr…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/uncanny-japan-53805/episodes/osechi-japanese-new-year-food-traditions-ep-184/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/uncanny-japan-53805/osechi-japanese-new-year-food-traditions-ep-184.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.