Setsubun (節分）

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:30:20 +0000

So we just finished celebrating ‘setsubun (節分)’, which is traditionally the day before the first day of a new season, mainly, in modern times, before Spring, by the lunar calendar, and falling on February 2nd or 3rd. That to me sounds a little optimistic for Spring, but that’s how it is.

Perhaps the most popular aspect of this is ’ mamemaki’ (豆まき） is which is essentially the throwing of beans in homes, and at shrines and temples, to welcome good fortune and drive out evil spirits. In a home then, someone will throw beans both in and out of the house/apartment, saying “Fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto” (“Luke is inside, demons are outside”).

We did the version where someone wears a demon mask, and the family pelts them with beans until they leave the house; often this is the returning father, though we actually took turns, since wailing like a banshee and running around with a mask is quite attractive to kids! Interestingly, the Wikipedia article said this home event was not so common anymore, but it seems that most people I know with children do it, and there are plenty of simple masks and beans in the shops.

As usual, there are some variations, with many of them I suspect being regional. When I read it up in my “Dictionary of Japanese Culture” book, by Setsuko Kojima and Gene A. Crane, it also mentioned some homes would hang some Japanese holly, and a sardine head on their doors to keep bad spirits out. I haven’t seen that myself to be honest, but now I’ve read it, I’ll be keeping a closer eye out. Some other people also eat beans to the number of their age, plus one, to guarantee health and luck this year, and this eating of beans largely comes from the Kansai region and the west of Japan.

In all then, it’s a fun event, a reflects the country’s agricultural, religious and historical connections, and is perhaps one of the lesser known festivals outside Japan.

I think I’ll be cleaning up dried beans for a few days to come though.

Oni wa Soto! Fuku wa Uchi!

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:50:46 +0000

Bean throwing. No really. Nigh on bean pelting. In public.

Still making no sense?

Alright, February the third is one of the Setsubun days, marking the end of one part of the Japanese lunar calendar and coming the day before the ‘Spring’ cycle. Many traditions around Japan exist for this cycle change but one popular ritual is called mamemaki (bean throwing). It’s actually a ritual cleansing at the end of the cold cycle to drive out demons, ogres and misfortune generally, and usher in some prosperity for the coming cycle.

It’s not uncommon for someone to put on an ogre mask (unfortunate Dads often seem to receive this honour) whilst others pelt beans at them until they are forced out of the apartment by frenzied offspring/spouses/passers-by. Another facet is that people will often eat the number of beans corresponding to their age, which I’m sure sparks off even more arguments, which can increase risk of accidental ‘injury by bean’. Be careful out there people.

As for the post title, that’s the chant that you can do if you like - “Out with Ogres, in with happiness!”, which, later on is replaced by “Who’s cleaning up all these beans??!?”

You can search on search etc. for references, but a useful page is here.

Original Comments

Comments from the original WordPress blog post.

Paul Brown — 2006-02-13

This is why I can’t go to Japan; getting over excited and pelting people with soft boiled eggs will just confuse and annoy the general population. Plus, if I eat one bean for every year of my age (25 and a bit) I’ll probably fart a hole through the nearest building and no-one wants that.

Setsubun on Nanikore

Setsubun (節分）

Oni wa Soto! Fuku wa Uchi!

Original Comments