Happy Setsubun!
Last night marks the “beginning
of spring”. In Japan, Setsubun is a festival that is held on February 3rd
or 4th in order to bring in luck for the new year. The day is
decided according to the lunar calendar and is not a national holiday. (This just means that everybody still goes to work.) Setsubun is a holiday that
celebrates new beginnings, cleansing oneself, and chasing away evil.
My impression of this
holiday so far is that it exists in name more than it does in practice. Much
like Halloween in the States, there are many older traditions attached to this
holiday but little modern meaning behind what actually occurs.
Traditionally, families
would cleanse their homes by throwing roasted beans out the door and shouting, “Devils
out, happiness in!” [Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!] This is called “mamemaki”. It was also once common to post a dried sardine head and some throny
leaves called “hiiragi” on your front door. This was thought to keep evil
spirits from entering.
In the Kansai region of
Japan many people eat a special sushi called “Eho-maki”, a rolled sushi, while
facing the lucky direction that corresponds to the current zodiac year. This tradition apparently
started in Osaka and was not practiced throughout Japan until a few years ago,
when combini’s (Japanese convenience stores) picked up on it. They began
heavily marketing the pre-sales of Eho-maki and now many people throughout
Japan eat this type of sushi on Setsubun. (I like sushi, so I’m not
complaining. Also, I live in Kansai…)
In honor of this holiday, I did in fact eat a rolled sushi facing north - northeast. Hopefully this will bring me good luck! Either way, I'm ready to welcome spring.
