Today is Doyo Ushi-no-hi. Literally that means the midsummer Day of the Ox, but it would be far more apt to call it the Day of the Eel.
That's because on this day each year, several million eels go under the knife, over the grill, on top of the rice, and down the hatch. As this poster below says: it's the source of stamina in summer.
As much as I like the pictures of the food itself, I always enjoy the graphics of the posters advertising unagi. Here the 'u' of the unagi is transformed into an eel-shaped wisp of smoke from a mosquito coil housed inside a traditional pig-shaped holder.
At least it's nice to know these tasty fish are properly honoured and commemorated.
At Zuiganji Temple, close to Matsushima Bay (the scenic coastal area just north of Sendai), a memorial stone was erected in 1923 known as the Unagizuka — which could perhaps be best translated as the "Eel Stele".
There's plenty more info for those who read Japanese here... (which is also where I lifted this photo from).
This year I got my unagi eating in early. Here are my posts on Myojinshita Kandagawa Honten and Matsuyoshi.
My JT piece included links to several other favourite/classic unagi specialists around the city.