Japanese Families

This weekend I had the pleasure of being a guest in my friend's family's house. I've started trying to immerse myself into the Japanese society to start having a greater grip on the language, as I've been in Japan for about eight months. But this weekend was special not only being the first time I've seen this family since I got to Japan, but also because this family had a grandchild born since I've been in here. The Japanese have a ceremony just typically inside their own house, where they will start to teach the child about non-bottled means of feeding, called in Japanese "okuizome." This literally means "start eating." They do this ceremony 100 days after the baby is born. The baby gets to try maybe a taste of all of these items, but never actually eats. The main dish at this ceremony is a whole cooked fish. Other items on the typical menu include clear soup, stewed food, also including one thing pickled to help for strong teeth. All served in a dinnerware that is red inside and black outside. The family also makes a moderately extravagant meal consisting of sushi, salad, shrimp, cake, and so on. This tradition started around the Heian Period.


This is other information about the ceremony and also shows the same tradition held by a family now living in the United States.
http://www.vjcc.com/cc_05-06.htm