November 24, 2025.

Every year on November 24, Japan celebrates Washoku Day—a holiday dedicated to honoring the essence of Japanese cuisine.
Fittingly, the date comes from a play on sounds:
11 (ii) – 2 (ni) – 4 (hon) → “Good Nihon.”
A reminder to appreciate nature, craftsmanship, harvest, and the cultural wisdom behind Japanese food.

Why Washoku Day Was Created

Washoku Day was established to help people rediscover the beauty of traditional Japanese cuisine and pass its values to future generations.

Late November marks the height of Japan’s autumn harvest.
Markets fill with seasonal ingredients—the foundation of Washoku’s philosophy:

Use each ingredient at its seasonal best, with respect and intention.

Its cultural significance also reflects the moment when Washoku was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.
Since then, November has been widely observed as “Washoku Month,” featuring regional dishes, cooking events, and food traditions across Japan.

Washoku: A Cuisine of Philosophy, Not Recipes

Washoku is shaped by values, not strict formulas:

• Harmony between nature and people
• Respect for ingredients
• Celebration of seasonality
• Beauty in simplicity and precision
• Mindfulness in preparation

This philosophy touches everything—from broth preparation to slicing vegetables to the quiet elegance of a carefully plated dish.

To understand Washoku fully, it is essential to understand the tools that make it possible.

Japanese Knives Were Created for Washoku

Japanese knives are not general-purpose tools.
They evolved specifically to support the techniques of Washoku.

Forged using methods inherited from Japanese sword-making, they embody centuries of refinement. Their designs—whether yanagiba for sashimi, deba for fish butchery, or usuba for vegetables—were created to highlight the beauty of Japanese ingredients:

・A clean cut keeps fish glossy and alive-looking
・Paper-thin vegetable slices reveal freshness and fragrance
・A precise angle transforms texture and mouthfeel
・The single-edge blade preserves cells and prevents bruising

In other words, Washoku shaped the knives, and the knives shaped Washoku.

A Tool That Reflects the Craftsman and the Cook

For Japanese chefs, a knife is more than an instrument.
It reflects skill, discipline, and even the spirit of the cook.
Its sharpness determines the beauty of each dish; its geometry enables the precision that Washoku demands.

Globally, these knives are admired not only as cooking tools but as cultural artifacts—carriers of the Japanese aesthetic:
elegance, honesty, refinement, and respect for nature.

In today’s world of convenience foods and mass production, Washoku Day reminds us of something timeless:

Food prepared with intention tastes different.
Ingredients treated with care feel different.
And cooking done with craft—not haste—creates memories, not just meals.

Washoku encourages us to slow down, observe carefully, and appreciate more deeply.
Not only the food—but the unseen traditions and hands behind it.

You don’t need to be in Japan to experience the spirit of Washoku.
You can begin with simple actions:

Cut ingredients cleanly and mindfully.
Let one flavor shine rather than many compete.
Observe textures, colors, and aromas.
Use tools that help express care—rather than speed.

A Sakai-forged Japanese knife becomes a quiet partner in this experience.
When you use a tool shaped by craftsmen carrying 600 years of history,
your kitchen becomes connected to a much larger cultural story.

November 24 is more than a Japanese holiday.
It is an invitation to the world:

To honor craft through food.
To appreciate the hands that shape ingredients.
To celebrate nature and the seasons.
And to find joy in cooking with intention.

Wherever you are today,
you can join in the spirit of Washoku—
and carry its philosophy forward with every meal you make.