Today is the 7th of January, after a week of eating a lot of mochi, the stomach is being revived by the seven herb rice gruel. It is a tradition in Japan and also in the monasteries, to search for these early spring greens and cut them finely before adding them to rice gruel just before serving. It is said that these herbs have medicinal values and thus are seen as supporting long life and health. These seven edible herbs growing in January in Japan are:  Japanese parsley (Seri) ・Shepherd's Purse (Nazuna) ・Cudweed ( Gogyō) ・Chickweed ( Hakobera) ・Nipplewort (Hotokenoza) ・Turnip (Suzuna) ・Radish ( Suzushiro). Nowadays you can even buy packs of these herbs in the supermarket, not needing to search for them yourself.

Nanakusa Gayu