Toso

Culture

Toso is a spiced medicinal drink consumed at New Year in Japan, believed to dispel the illnesses of the past year and promote a long life. A traditional saying holds that if one person drinks it, their family will stay healthy, and if the whole family drinks it, the entire village will be free from sickness. It has long been a fixture of osechi, the special New Year’s cuisine. The name is written with two kanji: one meaning “evil spirits” and the other meaning “to slaughter.” The drink is made by steeping a blend of medicinal herbs, called tososan, in sake or mirin.

When made with mirin—a sweet type of sake—it is suitable for drinking, but using fermented mirin seasoning is not appropriate because it is too salty. Three nested cups, known as sakazuki, are used in the ceremony. The smallest cup is passed around first, with each family member or guest taking a sip. Drinking customs vary by region, but in formal settings the order traditionally goes from youngest to eldest.

This practice originated in China, where it was hoped that children would grow faster and elders would age more slowly. However, in Japan, around the start of the Meiji or Shōwa periods, the custom shifted so that the head of the household typically drinks first. The tradition of drinking toso at New Year began during China’s Tang dynasty and was adopted by Japanese aristocrats in the Heian period.

The first cup was made with tososan, while the second and third cups used different herb blends called byakusan and toshōsan. Over time, the ceremony spread to the general public, and doctors would give out tososan. Some chemists’ shops still maintain this custom, offering tososan as a free gift at the end of the year. Today, the practice is mostly limited to the Kansai region and western Japan; in other areas, celebratory o-toso at New Year is often just plain sake without the herbal mixture.

Did You Know?

• The recipe is said to have originated as a prescription of the famous Chinese physician Zhang Zhongjing during the Eastern Han period.
• Ingredients have changed over time; some original Chinese ones were deemed too potent for casual consumption.
• Nowadays it is typically made from Japanese pepper, asiasari radix, apiaceae, cinnamon, dried ginger, atractylodes Japonica, Chinese bellflower and rhubarb, amongst others.