So many continuously hot days in Tokyo make me feel like eating shaved ice. It just so happens that July 25th is Shaved Ice Day. Inaugurated in commeration of the hottest summer's day in Japan, July 25th, 1933, Yamagata City in Tohoku sweltered in 40.8C heat.
Back in the old days when people didn't have freezers or ice machines, ice was a precious luxury allowed only to the imperial family and aristocracy. In the Edo era, a system of ice storage started, with local governments transporting huge ice blocks to the Emperor and Shogunate on June 1st. Special efforts were made to get these monstrous ice cubes to Tokyo in record time -- getting here as quickly as 5 days, when usually it took 10 days or more to make the trip by horse.
I'm planning to go to our local store to have shaved ice this weekend...
Back in the old days when people didn't have freezers or ice machines, ice was a precious luxury allowed only to the imperial family and aristocracy. In the Edo era, a system of ice storage started, with local governments transporting huge ice blocks to the Emperor and Shogunate on June 1st. Special efforts were made to get these monstrous ice cubes to Tokyo in record time -- getting here as quickly as 5 days, when usually it took 10 days or more to make the trip by horse.
I'm planning to go to our local store to have shaved ice this weekend...
Comments