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Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Beautiful Asian Food Though prepared differently with a combination of assorted ingredients and spices, rice consumption and use can be considered as the thread that ties most Asian countries to each other. The use of rice as a staple food, especially during famines, contributed to its being considered as a sacred food and thus used both for consumption and as an offering to their deities to ensure good luck and harvest. Rice is incorporated in most dishes in many Asian households and its method of preparation changes based on the occasion. This essay analyses the use of Sekihan (red rice) among the Japanese, its cultural effects, and the events it is associated with and how it reflects Zen’s seven principles of Japanese aesthetics. Sekihan is a meal prepared with red rice and azuki red beans in Japan that are used in ceremonies such as weddings, birthdays, new year celebrations among others. The color red in Japanese culture was considered to have magical powers which warded off evil and foreshadowed good fortune. In modern days, sekihan is associated with good luck. Traditionally, bowls of sekihan were set in homes as offerings during festivities, before small shrines which were dedicated to family ancestors (Tsuji 280). The ingredients used for the preparation of Sekihan red rice are short grain mochi rice (glutinous), medium grain white rice, azuki beans, water, sugar (optional), salt, vinegar (optional), and Gomashio which is a mixture of toasted black sesame seeds with salt (Itoh n.p). Zen’s seven Japanese aesthetic principles were meant to govern the art of creating Japanese gardens alongside other
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