Pizza Day (Piza no Hi)

What Is Pizza Day?

November 20 is "Pizza Day" in Japan. The date is the birthday of Queen Margherita of Italy (born November 20, 1851), after whom the pizza Margherita is named. Toppan Printing set the day in 1995 as an occasion to promote pizza as a symbol of Italian culture, and the Pizza Association, an industry group, also promotes it as Pizza Day. The association links it to "Cheese Day" on November 11 and promotes "Ten Days of Cheese and Pizza" in stores.

The Legend of Pizza Margherita

The story goes that in 1889, when Queen Margherita, wife of King Umberto I, visited Naples, pizza maker Raffaele Esposito and his wife Rosa baked three pizzas for her. One had basil and lard, one had tomato, and the third had tomato sauce with mozzarella and basil. That last pizza showed the colors of the Italian flag -- red tomato, white mozzarella, and green basil -- and the queen liked it, so it was named "Margherita." The queen was devoted to supporting the arts and charity, and she is said to have been widely beloved by ordinary people. One hundred years after the visit, in 1989, an event called "A Century of Pizza" was held in Italy. Some doubt that the story is historically accurate, and point out that pizza called Margherita may have existed before her visit, so the truth is unclear.

• Naples' first pizzeria: said to be "Brandi," which opened in 1830
• United States: the first pizzeria opened in Little Italy, New York, in 1905
• Delivery pizza: it started in the US in 1960, and in Japan the first was the Domino's Pizza Ebisu store in 1985
• Sao Paulo, Brazil: said to be the city that loves pizza most after New York, with nearly 6,000 pizzerias
• First pizzeria in Japan: "Nicola's," which opened in Roppongi in 1954, is regarded as the first

Neapolitan Pizza Makers on the UNESCO List

In December 2017, the art of the Neapolitan "pizzaiuolo" (pizza maker) was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Pizza is not new in Japan either. A company importing frozen pizza dough (now Del Sole) was founded in 1964, and Pizza Hut and Shakey's entered Japan in 1973. In the 1970s pizza spread through family restaurants, and the Italian-food boom of the late 1980s introduced authentic Italian-style pizza. As for Japan's very first pizza, accounts differ, and one leading theory is that it was served at an Italian restaurant in Kobe in 1944.

Tips for Marking This Day

• Choose a Margherita for lunch or dinner
• Use the "pizza is named after a queen" story as small talk with coworkers
• Check out the "Pizza Day" promotions at pizza shops and supermarkets
• Turn a team lunch or get-together into a pizza party

A Story of Naples in Three Colors

Everyday pizza comes with a legend of a queen and the craftspeople of Naples. November 20 is a day to look at the colors on your next slice.