Toso facts for kids
Toso, also known as o-toso, is a special spiced drink. It's a type of medicinal sake (Japanese rice wine). People traditionally drink it during Japanese New Year celebrations.
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What is Toso?
People drink Toso to wish for good health. They believe it helps wash away bad things from the past year. It also helps them hope for a long and healthy life ahead. For a long time, people have said that if one person drinks it, their family will stay healthy. If a whole family drinks it, then no one in their village will get sick! Toso is a key part of the special osechi food eaten during New Year in Japan.
The Meaning Behind the Name
The word "Toso" is written using two kanji characters. The first character, 屠 (屠), means "to slaughter" or "to defeat". The second character, 蘇 (蘇), stands for evil spirits or bad things. So, together, "Toso" means to "defeat evil spirits." This shows its purpose of bringing good health and luck.
How Toso is Made
Toso is made from a mix of special medicinal herbs. This spicy mix is called tososan (屠蘇散). To make Toso, you soak this herb mix in sake or mirin. Mirin is a sweet type of sake. If you use mirin, the drink is sweet and good to taste. However, you should not use salty mirin seasoning. That kind is too salty to drink.
The Toso Drinking Ceremony
Toso is usually served in three special cups. These cups are called sakazuki (盃). They come in different sizes, from smallest to largest. The smallest cup is used first. Each family member or guest takes a sip from the cups as they are passed around.
The way people drink Toso can be different in various regions. In formal settings, the youngest person used to drink first. This tradition came from China. There, young people would taste the drink first to check for poisons. But in Japan, this custom changed. Around the early 1900s, the head of the household usually started drinking first.
History of Toso
The tradition of drinking Toso for New Year started a long time ago. It began in China during the Tang Dynasty. Japanese nobles then adopted this custom during the Heian period. At first, people would drink three cups. The first cup was made with tososan. The second and third cups used different herb mixes. These were called byakusan and toshōsan.
Over time, this drinking ceremony became popular with everyone. Doctors would even give out tososan to people. Even today, some pharmacies keep this tradition. They give tososan away as a free gift at the end of the year.
This custom is now mostly found in the Kansai region and western Japan. In other parts of Japan, the New Year drink is often just plain sake. It does not always have the tososan herbs in it.
Toso Ingredients
The recipe for Toso is very old. It is said to have come from a famous Chinese doctor named Hua Tuo. He lived during the Three Kingdoms period.
The ingredients in Toso have changed over time. Some of the original Chinese herbs were thought to be too strong for regular use. Today, Toso is typically made from several herbs. These include Japanese pepper, asiasari radix, apiaceae, cinnamon, dried ginger, atractylodes Japonica, Chinese bellflower, and rhubarb.
People believe that Toso has medicinal benefits. It is thought to be helpful when you start to feel a cold coming on.
See also
In Spanish: Toso para niños
