日本文化のレッスン一 (Japanese Culture Lesson One)

日本文化のレッスン一

Setsubun

For our first lesson in Japanese Culture I decided to go with something timely. Around early February (the beginning of the traditional lunar calendar) the Japanese, like many cultures around the New Year, have a ritual celebration to bring good fortune in the year to come. This celebration is Setsubun (節分), literally translated as “Bean-Throwing Festival” or “Bean-Throwing Ceremony”. There are many ways to celebrate this time of year, but a few have become tradition.

Mamemaki

One of these traditions is the ritual of mamemaki (豆撒き, literally “bean throwing”). In this ritual the male head of the family would take roasted soybeans called fuku mame (福豆, “fortune beans”) and throw them out the front door to keep evil spirits out of their home while everyone says “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (鬼は外！福は内！, “Demons out! Luck in!). In modern times one parent might dress up as a mythological creature called an oni (鬼), while the other parent leads their children in chasing the “oni” away with the soybeans.

Oni and the kimon

The word oni is most often translated into English as demon or ogre. The oni were believed to come from the kimono (鬼門) or “demon gate”. Introduced from China the idea was that demons and evil spirits came from the north-east direction and this direction became known as the demon gate. When the Chinese zodiac was placed on a compass the direction of north-east falls between the ushi (丑, ox) and the tora (寅, tiger). This led the kimon to known as the ushitora (丑寅) or the “ox tiger” direction. This association with the ox and the tiger gave us the modern image of the oni with its horns and fangs as well as the tiger pelt it wears.

So if you feel like getting some good luck for the year to come, and want to do so in Japanese fashion, then grab some soybeans and chase those oni out of your house. So until next week...

じゃね。