New Year's sake - Toso

A medicinal liquor drunk as a celebration at the beginning of the year. It is made by placing tososan in a bag and soaking it in sake (usually mirin). Originally it was thought to ward off evil spirits and bring longevity, and in ancient China it was customary for families to drink it together, along with shohakushu (pepper wine), totou (peach soup), and kougatou (baby tooth paste). Influenced by this, in Japan, drinking it at the Imperial Court as a ceremonial offering had already become a ritual in the early Heian period. Cinnamon, Japanese pepper, white atractylodes, wind-hardening herb, and bellflower were mixed together (toso-san), placed in a scarlet bag and hung in a well, which was then taken out and presented by officials from the Bureau of Medicine on New Year's Day. After the ceremony to harden the teeth, the emperor dipped it in sake and ate it according to certain etiquette. These practices seem to have been largely based on Chinese customs. It is said that the reason for hanging it in the well is to receive the energy of the blue sun, a symbol of spring, rising from the earth. Later, a similar practice was also carried out in the Edo Shogunate, and it gradually spread to the general public, who began to drink it as a celebration with their families before eating zoni, and to offer it to guests as well. At that time, it was said that toso was drunk first by the youngest people and then by the older people. At the Imperial Court, it was customary for unmarried girls called Kusuko to drink it first, and the same thing was taught in China.

Even though the popularity of toso spread, it is doubtful whether it penetrated outside of urban areas, and it seems that many places simply drank regular sake, calling it "otoso," as a formality at the beginning of the year, rather than hoping for medicinal benefits. On the other hand, similar effects were sought in things like lucky tea boiled with young water, and it seems that it was more common for families to drink this together in hopes of longevity and warding off evil spirits.

[Noriaki Tanaka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

年始に、祝いとして飲む薬酒。屠蘇散を袋に入れて酒（普通はみりん）に浸したもの。元来邪気を払い長寿をもたらしてくれる酒と考えられ、古く中国においても椒柏酒(しょうはくしゅ)、桃湯(とうとう)、膠牙餳(こうがとう)などとともに、家族そろって飲み交わす風があった。その影響を受け、わが国でもすでに平安時代初期には、宮中においてこれを飲むことが供御(くご)薬として儀礼化していた。肉桂(にっけい)、山椒(さんしょう)、白朮(びゃくじゅつ)、防風(ぼうふう)、桔梗(ききょう)などを調合し（屠蘇散）、緋(ひ)色の袋に入れて井戸の中に吊(つ)るしておいたものを、典薬寮(てんやくりょう)の官人が元旦(がんたん)に取り出して献上するもので、天皇は歯固(はがた)めの行事のあと、これを酒に浸し一定の作法に基づいて食した。これらはほとんど、中国の作法に準じて行われたようである。井戸に吊るすのは、春の象徴である青陽の気が地中より昇るのを受けるためだとされる。その後、江戸幕府においてもほぼ同様なことが行われ、しだいに一般にも広まって、雑煮(ぞうに)の前に一家で祝って飲んだり、来客にも勧めるようになった。その際、屠蘇はまず年少者から飲み始め順次年長者に及ぶといわれたが、宮中においても薬子(くすこ)と称する未婚の少女が先に飲む習わしであったし、中国でも同様のことが説かれていた。

　屠蘇の風が広まったとはいっても、都市部以外への浸透は疑問で、薬効を期待するのではなく、年頭の一形式として、普通の酒を「おとそ」と称して飲む程度の所も多かったようである。一方、屠蘇と同様な効果はむしろ若水で沸かした福茶などに求められ、これを、延命長寿や邪鬼払いを願って家族そろって飲むことのほうが、一般的ではなかったかと思われる。

［田中宣一］

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