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Oseibo (Giving of Year-End Gifts)

Hiroyuki

By Hiroyuki
in Japan: Cooking & Baking

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

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It's that time of year again. I have four people that I feel obliged to send oseibo gifts to. Combined with ochuugen (giving of summer gifts), this means an annual expenditure of about 24,000 to 32,000 yen since I spend 3,000 to 4,000 yen for each gift.

Here is a good explanation of oseibo:

http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyocult...ocultureinc.htm

Do you need to send oseibo gifts to anyone?

It's slightly off-topic, but as I previously mentioned in the Kanto vs. Kansai thread, East Japan is a salmon culture area, while West Japan is a buri culture area. Salmon and buri used to be quite popular as oseibo gifts in the respective areas.

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torakris

torakris

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We have received a couple things over the years but have never sent anything.....

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Min

Min

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That's interesting, Hiroyuki.I am not sure if my chinese culture have something similar.If there is i can't remember offhand.

I will get housewares for mom, baby clothes for sis-in-law and beauty products for friends whenever something catches my eye.

What kind of oseibo gifts do you send Hiroyuki? :smile:

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

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What kind of oseibo gifts do you send Hiroyuki? :smile:

Mostly food items (otherwise I wouldn't have started this thread here in this forum :biggrin: ), such as ham, satsumaage (deep-fried fish sausage), cod roe, nori (laver), buckwheat noodles, coffee, just to name a few.

I think the oseibo season is a good opportunity to buy yourself those top quality, expensive food items that you usually can't afford, as a kind of a small present for yourself and your family. I have thus far bought grilled eels (expensive domestic ones, not imported ones), satsumaage, cod roe, and the like for our own consumption.

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Min

Min

Posted
Posted
What kind of oseibo gifts do you send Hiroyuki? :smile:

Mostly food items (otherwise I wouldn't have started this thread here in this forum :biggrin: ), such as ham, satsumaage (deep-fried fish sausage), cod roe, nori (laver), buckwheat noodles, coffee, just to name a few.

I think the oseibo season is a good opportunity to buy yourself those top quality, expensive food items that you usually can't afford, as a kind of a small present for yourself and your family. I have thus far bought grilled eels (expensive domestic ones, not imported ones), satsumaage, cod roe, and the like for our own consumption.

i have to try satsumaage..it's the only thing on your list i haven't tasted.Do take a picture of the oseibo gifts if you can.It'll be fun to see them "in person". :biggrin:

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

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Hiroyuki,

I noticed that you said you buy them for yourself, I have always thought about doing that, do you think the prices are better?

The stingiest people like me can sometimes be frantic enough to do so...

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

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Do take a picture of the oseibo gifts if you can.It'll be fun to see them "in person". :biggrin:

Today, I ordered oseibo gifts for six people via the Internet, totalling nearly 25,000 yen, which will be delivered directly to their homes, so I can't post any picture of them. :sad:

The gifts were domestic black-haired wagyu, salted herring roe (for two people), smoked salmon, Niigata jizake (local sake), and cooking oil.

No gift for my family this season. :sad:

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butter

butter

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I remember the o-seibo season well as my Japanese husband had a small business. I wasn't ever able to use up all the cans of tea we received and my husband laughed at me when I didn't want to throw the beautifully designed cans away. My first year there as a married "gaijin" was full of ignorance and bliss. O-seibo season is wonderful until you find out that you also have to send gifts too not just receive them. :hmmm:

"One chocolate truffle is more satisfying than a dozen artificially flavored dessert cakes." Darra Goldstein, Gastronomica Journal, Spring 2005 Edition

torakris

torakris

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I guess that I have been pretty lucky with the gifts in Japan, my in-laws have always bought and receiced incredible amounts of gifts and my mother in law usually passes half of them to me as she can't possibly use them all. :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

  • 3 weeks later...
Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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Do take a picture of the oseibo gifts if you can.It'll be fun to see them "in person". :biggrin:

We have received an oseibo from a relative today. A fish roe set. :biggrin:

I must confess I am not a huge fish roe fan, though... :sad:

gallery_16375_5_1103085122.jpg

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

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how can you not love fish roe... :blink:

send it to me! send it to me! :biggrin:

how can you love fish roe?! :biggrin:

Anyway, the tarako (cod roe) goes to my two kids, who love to eat it raw, the sujiko (salmon roe) goes to my wife, and kazunoko (herring roe) also goes to my wife. Poor me...

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yunnermeier

yunnermeier

Posted
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We give oseibo here in Malaysia during Chinese New Year too! Not as nicely wrapped as Japan probably and certainly not delivered. New Year is a time where my mum would pack Shiitake mushrooms, chinese sausages, cookies,chocolates and mandarin oranges. If the people receiving the gifts are close, we put in some abalone too;)

Mum would go calling at those people's houses, visit and give those gifts, and people would come to our house doing the same thing;)

I guess I don't appreciate Japanese food;) I love J.food but absolutely despise Osechi ryouri. Tarako is mmm yummy! We used to buy them by the dozen and eat it just with rice;)

My eG Foodblogs : Hungry in Holland, Oberhausen and Budapest

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torakris

torakris

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I just got an oseibo gift today!!!!!! :biggrin:

gallery_6134_91_1103263185.jpg

a monster pack of mentaiko (spicy cod roe), I love this stuff and I was just looking at it at the store yesterday where it was on sale for 298 yen ($2.90) for 100 grams (3 1/2 ozs) but it was still just a little too expensive. Now I have a whole box of it..... :biggrin::biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

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A friend of mine received an oseibo gift set of soba and passed it on to me as she felt she and her husband wouldn't be able to eat it all. :biggrin:

gallery_6134_91_1103514202.jpg

It included a couple packs of shinshu soba, a couple packs of matcha (green tea) soba, two bottles of tsuyu (sauce for the noodles), 2 packs of nishin (herring) simmered in a sweetened soy sauce, for topping the noddles) and 2 packs of maru mochi (round rice cakes).

She wanted to give me the whole box but I insisted she take at least one meal's worth, that is why some is missing. :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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