When Is Osechi Eaten?

Osechi is eaten from New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1st, 2027) through the first three days of the year (until Sunday, January 3rd).

Osechi ryōri is Japan’s New Year food: dishes first offered to Toshigami, the deity of the new year, and then shared by the family. Sweet black beans, herring roe, tiny candied sardines… each little dish packed into the lacquered boxes carries a small wish for the year ahead.

If you’ve seen those beautiful stacked boxes and wondered what’s inside — and why — here is a gentle introduction.

What you’ll find here

When is osechi eaten?
Where the word “osechi” comes from
A meal shared with the New Year deity
Why it’s packed in stacked boxes
The “three celebratory dishes” — and how Tokyo and Osaka differ
The wishes behind each dish
A quiet way to try it for the first time

Osechi is usually eaten during sanganichi, the first three days of the New Year (January 1st–3rd). In 2027, New Year’s Day falls on a Friday, and January 3rd on a Sunday.

A Japanese encyclopedia (Heibonsha’s Hyakka Jiten Mypedia) explains that osechi is made of foods that keep well and still taste good cold, so they can be enjoyed over those three days. That’s also why the seasoning tends to be a little stronger than everyday cooking.

Where the word comes from

“Osechi” is short for osechiku, an offering made on a sechi — a seasonal turning point in the calendar.

Originally, osechi meant the food prepared for any of these turning points, such as the five seasonal festivals (sekku): January 7th, March 3rd, May 5th, July 7th and September 9th. Over time, the word came to mean only the most important of them all: the food of the New Year.

A meal shared with the New Year deity

In Japan, the New Year is a time to welcome Toshigami, a deity who brings good harvests and happiness, into the home. The big year-end cleaning and the pine decorations at the door were originally ways of preparing for that visit. (See also our guide to New Year decorations.)

According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), osechi was originally food offered to the deity and then eaten afterward by the family. Sharing a meal with Toshigami was believed to invite good fortune and drive away misfortune.

So osechi is a feast — but it’s also, in a way, a table shared with a god.

Why stacked boxes?

MAFF explains that during the Edo period, offerings came to be displayed rather than eaten, and the edible celebratory dishes began to be packed into jūbako, stacked lacquered boxes. That style is what we know as osechi today; its basic form took shape toward the end of the Edo period (the mid-1800s).

These days, though, you don’t have to use boxes — serving it on ordinary plates is perfectly fine. With a refrigerator at home, enjoying the dishes freshly made makes good sense too.

The three celebratory dishes

Of all the dishes, three are considered the heart of osechi: the iwai-zakana sanshu, or “three celebratory dishes” (iwai-zakana are small dishes served with sake at celebrations).

According to the Digital Daijisen dictionary, people most often use:

In the Kanto region (around Tokyo): black beans, herring roe (kazunoko) and candied baby sardines (gomame, also called tazukuri)
In the Kansai region (around Osaka and Kyoto): black beans or gomame, herring roe, and pounded burdock root (tataki-gobō)

The lineup shifts a little from place to place — one of the charms of osechi.

The wishes behind each dish

Many osechi dishes carry wishes based on wordplay or on how they look. Here are some common ones, as introduced by MAFF:

Black beans (kuromame) — mame also means “diligent” and “healthy”: to work hard and stay well
Herring roe (kazunoko) — so many eggs: many descendants
Candied sardines (tazukuri) — literally “rice-field maker,” as the fish were once used as fertilizer: a good harvest
Pounded burdock (tataki-gobō) — deep roots: a family business that takes firm root
Kelp rolls (kobumaki) — kobu echoes yorokobu, “to rejoice”
Shrimp (ebi) — a bent back: a long life, until you’re bent with age
Kinton (sweet mashed chestnut and sweet potato) — golden color: prosperity
Lotus root (renkon) — holes to see through: a clear view of the future
Red and white kamaboko (fish cake) — celebration and protection from evil

Explanations vary a little by region and by family. If you’ve heard a different story at someone’s table, that one matters too.

A quiet way to try it

Making a full set of osechi is a lot of work — even for many people in Japan. But you don’t need a whole stack of boxes to feel the New Year.

Try just one small dish of sweet black beans. Before the first bite, make a quiet wish: “May I stay healthy and keep going this year.” That alone is a lovely osechi moment.

If you’re spending the New Year in Japan, department stores and supermarkets fill up with osechi ingredients and ready-made sets in late December. Picking up even one small item is a gentle way to join in.

In closing

Osechi is a box of wishes, shared with the New Year deity.

Once you know what each dish means, a single black bean or a bite of herring roe starts to look a little special. For how people spend the night before, see our guide to Ōmisoka, New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Day 2027 is a Friday. Why not place a small wish on your first bite of the year?

References

Kotobank, “御節料理 (Osechi ryōri)” (Digital Daijisen, Seisen-ban Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Britannica International Encyclopedia, Hyakka Jiten Mypedia, etc.)
Kotobank, “祝い肴 (Iwai-zakana)” (Digital Daijisen, Nipponica, etc.)
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, “Osechi: food that wishes for a happy year” (Let’s! Washoku Project, in Japanese)
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, aff magazine, December 2017 (in Japanese)