There is an old saying that when you eat eel on “Doyo no Ushi” Day in the summer, you won’t suffer from the summer heat.  As a result, many people in Japan eat eel on this day.

“Doyo no Ushi” Day is the day of the ox (from the 12 symbols of the Chinese zodiac) during the 18 days before autumn starts.  According to the ancient Chinese calendar system, autumn starts on around August 7, so the 18 days before autumn starts usually fall in the period from around July 20 to August 7. This year we have two “Doyo no Ushi” days which are July 19 and July 31.

There are actually “Doyo no Ushi” Days in spring, summer, autumn and winter.  But when we say “Doyo no Ushi” Day, we usually mean the “Doyo no Ushi” Day in summer.

As mentioned above, people in Japan usually eat rice with grilled eel on top on this day. It is said that this custom started during the Edo period.  According to one of the stories, an eel shop owner asked a famous scholar for his advice on how to sell more eels in the summer.  The scholar remembered the folk tradition saying that when you eat food that has a “u” sound in its name, you won’t suffer from the summer heat. (Eel is called “unagi” in Japanese). Then, he recommended that they should put a sign for “the Day of the Ox” in front of the eel shop so that eel shop could sell a lot of eel. Then, other eel shops began to do the same thing, and the custom of eating eel on “Doyo no Ushi” Day grew common in Japan.