In Japanese traditional food culture, rice with grilled eel occupies a very important position. For example, in the "soil with ugly day", the folk spread "soil with ugly day eat eel, a summer without fatigue". This custom originated in the middle of the Edo period that the eel shop owner's cleverly marketed. However, this super change makes the eel rice become the first choice of summer to supplement the physical strength. The streets are filled with the aroma of rice with grilled eel in this day every year.
In Akita Prefecture's "Pole Lantern Festival" and other festivals to celebrate the harvest and give thanks to nature, rice with grilled eel is also indispensable. In autumn the eel is mature. The experienced chef will carefully bake the eel and match sweet soy sauce, then eat with rice. The special festival cuisine is given a rich taste by the chef. It is not only a reward for a year's work, but also full of gratitude for the gifts of nature. The family sits around sharing the rice with grilled eel, which means family harmony and prosperity. Eel is a symbol of auspice and prosperity in Japanese culture. Rice with grilled eel carries the blessing of the elders to the younger generation, and is the link of family emotional exchange and cultural inheritance. Through the changes of time, it always occupies an important position in traditional festivals.