２月のイベント「節分」｜Setsubun the Bean-Throwing Festival : Event on February

The new year has just come but it is already February now.

We also have a Japanese-specific event this month.

Have any of you heard about an event called Setsubun?

Today, we will learn about it together.

Setsubun is an event in February. The date changes every year, but it is February 3rd for 2024.

First of all, let’s check the Kanji of the word.

“Setsu” is as in “Kisetsu: Season”, and “Bun” is as in “Wakeru: to divide.”

Therefore, Setsubun means “A day when the season changes.”

There is a day called “Risshun” which means “A day when Spring comes.”

So the day before is Setsubun.

When the season changes, people used to believe that Demons appear.

This is why we started to do “exorcisms” on Setsubun.

And Setsubun has started to have a great year by driving away bad things such as sickness and disaster.

💡 It is called “Mubyou Sokusai” for having no bad things such as sickness and disaster.

People used to believe that demons appeared on Setsubun when the season changed.

So Mamemaki: Bean-Throwing has started to drive these demons away by throwing beans at them.

<Student: Why beans?>

<Emi Sensei: That is a good question!>

In Japan, beans have ”a life force” and power to “drive away bad things.”

Thus, people have started throwing beans at demons.

There is a correct way for Mamemaki: the Bean-Throwing. It changes depending on the region, but let’s check the typical rules.

• On a day before Setsubun, roast beans and make it an offering to Kamidana: A Shinto household altar. And this roasted beans is called “Fukumame.” If you do not have Kamidana, you can put them on a white paper at a higher place.
  • Mame o Iru (to roast beans) would mean Ma-me(eyes of demons) o Iru(to shoot.)
• At the night of Setsubun, we do Mamemaki together with the whole family. Originally, demons would come at the middle of the night around 2 am-5am, so it was good to do it at night. But it will be annoying to other people, so we just do it around evening.
  • Throw beans saying “Oni wa soto: Demons out” from inside the house to outside
  • Throw beans saying “Fuku wa uchi: Fortunes in” from outside of the house to inside
• Clean up all the beans you threw.
  Some people throw beans with shell (like earth nut) or paper balls instead of bare nuts.
• After finishing Mamemaki, we eat nuts for numbers of your age+1. And we call it “Toshitori-mame: beans for one’s age.”

The typical shout for Bean-Throwing is “Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi.”

Depending on different regions, there would be different shouts.

If you have any favorite region in Japan, look it up for their shout!

In Fujioka City, Gunma, they believe that there are not only bad demons but also good ones. So they say “Demons In.”

And in Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto, they welcome demons (“Demons In”) and they let them go after becoming good ones. (“Fortunes Out”)

We even have a song for Mamemaki:Bean-Throwing!

Especially, a song called “Oni no Pantsu: Demon’s underware” is a very famous kid’s song.

Let’s listen to it.

There are some famous food we eat for Setsubun.

Let’s check what kind of food they are and try to eat on Setsubun!

Ehomaki is a sushi roll to eat on the day of Setsubun.

And when we eat it, we face in the “Eho” which is the good direction of the year.

The Eho of 2024 is “East-Northeast!”

Besides the direction, there are some rules when eating it.

《The Rules for eating Ehomaki》

• Never cut Ehomaki before/when eating it.
  Cutting Ehomaki would mean cutting your fate and fortunes. So you should eat it whole.
• Face in the “Eho” which is the direction of the deity fortune when eating it.
• You cannot talk when eating. Your fate and fortunes may go away if you talked.
  We eat it while making a wish, but try to eat in silence.

You will have a good fortune if you keep these 3 rules.

And you can check the “Eho” with apps if you do not know the direction.

I have never had it before but, people from Kanto region (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, etc) eat a soup called “Kenchin-jiru” on Setsubun.

“Kenchin-jiru” is a soup that contains Daikon (japanese raddish), Tofu, Shiitake mashroom, etc.

You get warm and it is cold during Setsubun season, so Kenchin-jiru becomes famous for Setsubun‘s food.

This is a quiz about Setsubun.

Please answer these questions after reading this article!

How many of them would you get correct?

Need to read it again?

Let’s watch a YouTube video and check what Setsubun is actually like!

Did all of you know about Setsubun?

How will you spend your day on Setsubun?

Please try Ehomaki and Mamemaki!