This article from the Kiwi Yamabushi newsletter got more than 1,000 reads, so I decided to put it here for everyone. Get articles just like this in your inbox by signing up here. Paid subscribers get priority access and access to the full archive of over 100 articles.

It’s eel day. Don’t mow your lawn. 

This post was inspired by Hideo Tanikawa. Specifically this:

Custom of Japanese people to eat eel on specific day

The Japanese customarily eat eel to regain energy and stamina and to alleviate suffering from the summer heat on the day known as the Midsummer Day of the Ox, Doyo-no-ushi-no-hi, which traditionally falls around the end of July on the ancient Japanese calendar. Those specific summer day…

---

It’s eel day. Don’t mow your lawn.

Out of the blue the other day my wife said to me:

'I know it’s annoying, but would you mind not mowing the lawns over the next few days?’

Would I mind not mowing the lawns? Can I also not do the dishes, the laundry, and any of the other tedious tasks you always put me up to?

'It doesn’t work like that’

Apparently. So what does it work like?

'Oh, and we’re having eel for dinner.’

I guess we’re having eel for dinner.

Yay.*

It’s not like my wife to tell me not to do something. There has to be some sort of ulterior motive or unknown Japanese secret to her ways. 

Turns out their is.

It’s called Doyo no Ushi no Hi, which directly translated would be like ‘The Day of the Ox at the Term of Soil’. 

Has a nice ring to it. And I promise this isn’t just another Emperor on a Boat Day.

Although it is similar.

So, what is Doyo no ushi no hi The Day of the Ox at the Term of Soil? 

Well, to understand this you first need to understand The Term of Soil. 

The Term of Soil

As with many things in Japanese culture, The Term of Soil goes back to ancient Chinese culture. 

You see, in the ancient Chinese lunisolar calendar farmers separated the year into 24 different terms based on certain natural and astronomical events to help them determine what to on the farms and when. These are called solar terms (節氣 jieqi in traditional Chinese and 二十四節気 nijushi sekki in Japanese). 

However, what works for the Chinese doesn’t always work for the Japanese. For example, Japanese people are always quick to remind us that Japan has four distinct seasons. 

Traditionally they have 72. 

Well, technically they’re called microseasons, so they are different. 

But either way,

Screw Rainy Season.

And how can Japan have 72 microseasons? 

Easy. 

Since the Chinese system didn’t adequately account for Japan’s uniqueness, the Japanese took the solar term thing and separated it even further. 

Each of the 24 solar terms were split into three periods of five days. 

Then, everything under the sun was separated into one of the five elements; wood, fire, soil, metal, and water. The four seasons were split as follows:

Spring = wood

Summer = fire

Autumn = metal

Winter = water

But what about the soil?

Soil marks the time between the four seasons. In other words, there are four ‘terms of soil’ separating each of the four seasons, each lasting about 18 days. 

These ‘terms of soil’ are called 土用 Doyo in Japanese, and they are controlled by the Kami of soil, 土公神Dokujin or Dokojin (Japanese link). 

Put simply, Doyo is when the Kami of the soil is believed to be particularly active. As such, anything that could ‘harm the soil’, like mowing the lawn, is best avoided. 

Lest you incur the wrath of the Soil Kami

Whatever that means.

Other acts that could ‘harm the soil’ include but are not limited to going on a trip, and moving house, of course. 

Of course. 

And it just so happens that a period of Doyo is the ’next few days’ my wife is talking about; July 24th to August 5th, specifically. 

So why eat eel? 

To get to the eel, we first need to get to the ox, of course. 

Of course. 

You know the 12 signs of the Zodiac, right? This year is the year of the dragon, for example.

In ancient Japan, as in ancient China, the signs of the zodiac were used to designate not only years but also hours throughout a day, and days in a cycle. 

The Day of the Ox, Ushi no Hi 丑の日, is the second day, since the Ox came second in the great race. 

When Ushi no Hi coincides with a term of soil, we get ‘Doyo no Ushi no Hi’, or ‘The Day of the Ox in the Term of Soil’. 

Got it? 

Good. 

And the eels?

Many theories exist as to why Japanese people eat eel on this day. 

One is simply that the characters for the word for ox in Japanese, ushi, look like eels in Hiragana. 

うし

Admittedly, this one’s a stretch, but there’s also the tale of General Gennai Hiraga. 

Or as I like to call him, the Colonel Sanders of Japan. 

The Tale of General Gennai Hiraga

Another theory as to why Japanese people eat eel during this time is most often attributed to a story about General Gennai Hiraga, an inventor and scholar of the Dutch (yes that exists) who lived from 1728 to 1780.

General Hiraga was something of a genius. Or, at the very least, he was regarded as such by his fellows. 

One day, a shop specializing in eel was struggling to make ends meet. So they did what any normal person would do. They consulted their local inventor and scholar of the Dutch, a certain General Hiraga. 

General Hiraga recalled a saying that on The Day of The Ox in The Term of Soil, eating anything that starts with the ’u’ sound (from Ushi) is said to be extremely auspicious. Eating foods such as pickled plums umeboshi, udon noodles, or melon uri, will bring good luck, in other words. 

Oh! And also Unagi!

Eel!

In a touch of commercial genius that fellow army person Colonel Sanders would emulate a few centuries later with the custom of eating KFC at Christmas, General Hiraga instructed the eel shop to place a sign saying ‘Today is The Day of The Ox in The Term of Soil’ outside their window (try doing that somewhere in the west!).

Lo and behold the eel shop struck gold!

And thus began a tradition that lasts to this day. 

I used the term Ox in this article as that is usually the animal we associate with the Zodiac. However, the translation could just as easily be cow. Ushi, cow is also something that starts with an ‘u’ sound, but I couldn’t find an explanation as to why they didn’t just eat beef. At the very least, I know they couldn’t fathom drinking cow’s milk in those days, so I’m guessing it just wasn’t readily available?

I couldn’t convince my wife to switch ushi for unagi, but at least I could convince her why I shouldn’t be mowing the lawns!

---

* I didn’t actually eat eel. This was just for illustrative purposes. I try to avoid eel entirely as it is often overfished!

Also, none of my normal images were copying over (I usually copy / paste from Google Photos). Sorry for all the stock and AI images 🙁