Thursday, February 09, 2006
Setsubun Festival
Time flies too quickly. We just finished the posting about our last weekend that I realized that I forgot to talk about something else: the Setsubun event.
The Setsubun and the associated Mamemaki ceremony always remind me how superstitious the Japanese people are. For us, it is mainly an opportunity to go out visit some shrines, have fun, and see something specifically Japanese.
So, what is it, you ask? Well, as you may have heard Japan has four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The name Setsu-Bun literally means "division of season" and it originally referred to the days marking the change from one season to the next — yes, this means that there were four of them before, but today only the day before the beginning of spring according to the traditional Japanese calendar (Risshun) is called by that name. Setsubun was celebrated last week, on February 3.
And on that event, it is traditional for the Japanese people to hold the Mamemaki or bean-throwing ceremony. The what? Well, they exorcize the demons (called Oni) by throwing beans at them, while at the same time welcoming good fortune (Fuku). In practice, they throw roasted soybeans all around the house, shouting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" meaning "Demons, get out! Good luck, come in!). By doing this, they drive out evil spirits and the seeds of misfortune, and they pray for the family's well-being and good business.
After the Mame-maki is over, everyone eats the same number of beans as their own age, plus one (in some regions) for bringing good luck for the year to come. It is believed that by doing so, people will be free of sickness during that year.
Families with little children especially look forward to this day because Mame-maki can be a lot of fun. One person acts as the devil, usually taking the form of a goblin and runs around, while the others throw beans at the person. At some schools, the students make goblin masks and enjoy mame-maki.
Thanks to the great fun of Mame-maki, Setsubun is still a popular traditional event.
At Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines all over the country, there are celebrations for Setsubun. Priests and invited guests will throw roasted soy beans (some wrapped in gold or silver foil), small envelopes with money, sweets, candies and other prizes. In some bigger shrines, even celebrities and Sumo wrestler will join. Many people will come, and the event turns wild, with everyone pushing and shoving to get the gifts tossed from above.
We first went to Zoujouji Temple in the morning to see this celebration. A large crowd was already there, waiting for a group of celebs to throw things at them. 
To give an idea of what this is about, the speaker mentioned that 35 millions yen worth of goods and presents were to be throwed this morning! He also said that the security was this year taken care of by some 350 police officers ! Yes, things can get rough as people push around to try to get some of the items thrown around.
After this, we met our friend G. at another place, Kanda Myoji Shrine. This was is a much smaller place but the ceremony was also quite beautiful, with lots of costumed people and lots of fun. Again, large quantities of beans and presents were thrown at the crowd.
