Table Setting #107
New Year's Festivities

New Year celebrations are just around the corner. And in Japan, New Year is the most festive time of the year as people gather to rejoice the beginning of a new year. 
We set a beautiful and graceful tablescape following traditional customs of a Japanese style New Year celebration.  Enjoy the auspicious motifs and designs of the tableware, and the traditional menus prepared for this once-in-a year special occasion.   

Contents

• Refined and Authentic 
• Be Creative with Small Accessories 
• A New Year Feast 
• Featured Items

Key points of this table setting

1. Refined and Authentic   

New Year is the best time of the year for beautiful lacquerware items, plates with auspicious designs and golden small accessories to take center stage at the table. 
The table is in a refined and noble style that expresses respect, and symbolizes an organized and clean start for the new year. New Year in Japan is a time for celebration but is also considered a time to show gratitude to the gods. 

The main colors are red, black, white and gold. The festive yet elegant colors are highlighted with the shine of lacquerware as the exquisite lacquerware Jubako bento box filled with Osechi ryori being the center piece of the table.

We chose elegant lacquerware items and plates that all go well with the lustrous shine of lacquer and add a festive flair to the tabletop. 

The combination of black lacquer and Maki-e gives this Pine Tree Yamanaka Lacquerware Three Tiers Jubako Bento Box an authentic and luxurious look. It renders the table a gorgeous and traditional Japanese atmosphere, appropriate for New Year celebrations.

This Rinkuro Kiln Old Imari Akadami Phoenix Fan-shaped Plate has a beautiful shape and design making it an excellent decor item for a celebratory setting. 

Arita Porcelain Lab Yazaemon Crane and Wave plates with their auspicious motifs such as pine, bamboo, plum, and chrysanthemum, make them perfect for celebrations and other special occasions.

2. Be Creative with Small Accessories    

Small details can be the finishing touch to a table setting for special occasions. Accessories can add a pulp of joyful colors to the setting and show guests your warm hospitality.  

For this New Year meal occasion, we used special chopsticks with festive "Mizuhiki(string craft)" in red and white.  Mizuhiki is a traditional Japanese cultural element that has its own meaning depending on the number of strings, color, and the way they are tied. The orderly beauty of Mizuhiki never goes out of style, and can be incorporated into tableware as a motif of good fortune like these chopsticks. This Mizuhiki is designed to be used be as a chopstick rest when taken off from the chopsticks. 

Golden chopstick rests go well with the shiny lacquerware placemats. These Kinsai Kutani Chopstick Rest are small in size but add auspiciousness even to the tips of the chopsticks. 

For beverages during this appetizing meal, we set the Mizore Kutani Craft Guinomi Sake Glass. The arabesque and floral patterns on the glass are all hand-painted. Perfect for special occasions when entertaining family and guests.

3. A New Year Feast    

And no celebration would be complete without a table filled with festive food and sake. We set the table with the traditional cuisine enjoyed during the three days of New Year, Osechi ryori.  

The traditional cuisine enjoyed at New Year is called "Osechi ryori." An abundance of dishes are beautifully set in a Jubako bento box and is eaten during the three days of New Year celebrations. The ingredients behold auspicious meanings of happiness, good health, prosperity and longevity. 

Along with Osechi ryori,  "Ozouni" is served in lacquerware soup bowls like this Fukunishi Sobe Spear Flower Aizu Lacquerware Soup Bowl. The tradition has it that "Ozouni" was served at farmers' households to give thanks to gods for a safe harvest in the previous year and praying for a bountiful harvest and family safety for the coming year.

The sake set at this table contains a special kind of alcoholic drink named "Otoso." To ward off evil spirits and pray for good health, it is drunk on New Year's Day (the morning of New Year's Day) before eating Osechi ryori. Otoso is usually served in a flat "Sakazuki" type sake cup like seen in the above photo. The youngest member of the family is the first one to take a sip from the top. This tradition comes from the idea of the youngest member of the family passing down his or her youth to the elder members of the family. 

This table setting is for a New Year celebration, but it is a well-set table setting that would work for all festive occasions.
Decorate your table with luxurious lacquerware and prim porcelain dishes to express happy and warm wishes for the new year.

Featured items

Jubako Bento Boxes

Jubako bento boxes make dishes look more elegant, and create a sense of excitement when the lid is opened. Take a look at our selection of beautifully crafted Jubako bento boxes to create a refined and festive atmosphere on your table top.