Are you ready to chase some demons? Let's take a look at the Japanese holiday of Setsubun.
Setsubun (節分) is a Japanese festival that takes place on the day before the start of spring on the old Japanese calendar, which is usually on Feb 2nd or 3rd. This year (2022) it is on the 3rd. It has some fun traditions that go along with it. It is a day to clean away all the evil of the former year and to chase away all evil spirits. This is done by mamemaki (豆撒き), or bean scattering. Kids love this.
Demon Chasing
Now this is fun, and you can easily see why kids love it so much. Roasted soybeans are gathered and thrown around the house and out the windows. Why soybeans? Demons can not stand the smell evidently, or so it is said. Although I note that supermarkets often sell peanuts instead of soybeans, I suspect because they are cheaper. Maybe demons don't like peanuts either.
Anyway.
When throwing the beans, people call out "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (鬼は外! 福は内!), which roughly means "Demons out, luck in!". People really get into this. One old woman told me that when you throw the beans out the window, you have to be sure to slam the window shut as fast as possible so the evil spirits can not get back in!
To make the idea of chasing demons a little more fun for kids, typically the father of the house will wear an oni mask and chase them. An oni is a kind of devil or demon in Japanese mythology. The children then enjoy throwing the soybeans at him and chasing him away. Other places with kids also have fun with this. At my son's elementary school, the principle dressed as an oni and let all the younger kids throw soybeans at him.
At my son's kindergarden they did this too. According to him at his elementary school no one dressed fully as demons, just the principle walked around with a demon mask only.
Moving on...
Eating Your Age
After chasing all the demons and dad out of the house, everyone has to eat their age in soybeans. Easy enough for the kids, but the older you get, the tougher it becomes. Some areas go one more and make everyone eat their age plus one more for luck in the coming year as well. The more luck the better, I say, so why not.
Sushi Rolls
Another more recent tradition is for everyone to face a certain direction and eat a big, long sushi roll, called ehō-maki (恵方巻, "lucky direction roll"). The exact direction changes every year according to the Chinese zodiac. This year (2022) it is North Northwest.
Besides the direction, there are various rules that people follow, but the main two are you are not allowed to talk while eating and once you start eating you are not allowed to pause until you finish the sushi roll. After you finish, good luck will come to you!
This tradition started in Western Japan (specifally in Osaka) but has since spread to much of the country due in no small part to grocery stores and sushi shops that don't mind selling more sushi rolls every February. And we don't mind eating them, so it's win-win. If we get extra luck out of the deal, that's even better!
Setsubun is a fun time for all, and any excuse to eat a sushi roll is a good one. If you come to Japan around February, join in the fun and you too can enjoy some demon-chasing!
Misc info:
- Photo 1, taken from "Japan and the Japanese illustrated", p187, by Aimé Humbert, published in 1874.
- Photo 2, from the Hokusei manga. According to Wikipedia Japan, it is in the public domain.
- Photo 3 (demons hunting kids) by Ryan Latta, licensed under the creative commons.
- Photo 4 (soybeans) by Lichia Liu, licensed under the creative commons.
- Photo 5 (ehomaki) by Sakura Chihara, licensed under the creative commons.
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
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