Osechi cuisine (New Year's cuisine) - Osechiryori

Japanese: おせち料理(御節料理) - おせちりょうり

It is also called osechi. "Osechi" and "sechi" are abbreviations of "sekku" (seasonal festival), and originally referred to ceremonial food on festival days and special days. However, it is believed that the word "sekku" came to be used to mean festival days, and thus the word "osechi cuisine" arose. Also, since the most important festival day is New Year's Day, the word "osechi" came to refer to New Year's cuisine, and furthermore, it often refers to the celebratory dishes (shuko) and other items in a box (kumiju). A box is a box of food packed in a box. During the Bunka era (1804-18), Yashiro Hirokata sent a questionnaire to all parts of the country inquiring about folk customs, titled "Questionnaire on the Customs of Various Provinces." One of the questions in this questionnaire is, "Regarding stacks of food, herring roe, sesame beans, and boiled beans are the norm, but what other dishes are there?" This suggests that the custom of using herring roe, sesame beans, and black beans as basic celebratory dishes as auspicious foods signifying prosperity of descendants, good harvests, and good health (beans) was already widespread throughout the country at that time.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

おせちともいう。〈おせち〉〈せち〉は節供（せちく）の略で，もともとは節日，物日の儀式的な食物をいったが，節供の語が節日の意に用いられるようになって，〈御節料理〉の語が発生したものと思われる。また，節日のうち最も重要なのが正月であることから，正月料理をさすようになり，さらにその中の祝肴（しゆこう）その他の組重（くみじゆう）の物をいうことが多くなった。組重は重詰料理のことである。文化年間(1804‐18)に屋代弘賢が全国各地に質問状を出して民俗を問い合わせた《諸国風俗問状》に〈組重の事，数の子田作（ごまめ）たたき牛房煮豆等通例，其外何様の品候哉〉という質問があり，当時すでに子孫繁栄，豊作，健康(まめ)を意味するめでたい食品として，かずのこ，ごまめ，黒豆を基本的な祝肴とする風習が全国的であったことをうかがわせる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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