Carp Drinking Saké

You learn something new all the time.

Timely, as this is Saké month on my blog, I read a recent article in the Mainichi Daily News about an interesting Japanese ceremony involving Saké and carp. Yes, the fish. And unlike my previous post talking about using sea creatures as drinking vessels, these carp have a far more important function.

On January 7, in a tradition extending back to the Edo Period (1603-1868 A.D.), a ceremony was held in which carp were fed Saké to symbolically take on people's calamities. Once the carp have drank the Saké, they are released back into a river. It seems similar to something like a scapegoat. Those participating in the ceremony were of certain ages thought to be prone to calamities, of ages 25 and 42 for men and ages 19 and 33 for women.

Anyone care to feed a cod some Cabernet?