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mochi pounding to prepare the upcoming new year holidays. Traditional Japanese New Year's Food Japanese people eat a special selection of dishes on New Year's Day called osechi. A popular soup is ozōni, having mochi (glutinous rice dumplings) and vegetables. Also popular are tuna fish wrapped in sweetly boiled kelp (kobumaki), kamaboko (a food prepared from fish paste), kurikinton (mashed sweet potato with chestnut) and kuromame (sweetened black beans). Many of these dishes are sweet or sour because they kept better — the traditions date to a time, before households had refrigerators, when most stores closed for the holidays. There are many variations of osechi, and some foods eaten in one place are never eaten in other places (or are even banned) on New Year's day. Today, sashimi and sushi are often eaten, as well as non-Japanese foods. To let the overworked stomach rest, nanakusa gayu (seven vegetable rice soup) is prepared on the 7th or 15th day. The special food prepared for New Year's Day is a joy for many Japanese.

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