Did you know that in Japan there is a holiday where people dress up as oni (demons), while others throw soy beans at people? Today we are going to talk about the spring festival called setsubun.
At that time, climate change usually causes illness, for this reason the Japanese believed that the cause could be demons, so they scared them away with soybeans yelling "omni out! Good luck inside!".
The seasons of the year have names: Spring (risshun), Summer (rikka), Autumn (risshuu) and Winter (ritto);
Índice de Conteúdo
What is Setsubun?
Setsubun [節分] literally means “to divide or separate seasons”, it is a holiday celebrated in early February to say goodbye to winter and enter spring (it usually falls between February 2nd to 4th).
On that day the Mamemaki [豆撒き] a ritual conducted by the head of the family or member who has the Chinese sign corresponding to the year. In this ritual, roasted soybeans are thrown at someone dressed in the Oni mask (ogre, demon).
During this ritual the members shout: “Fukuwa Uchi” (Welcome to happiness, luck, good things)”Oniwa soto” (Apart from the Devils, bad luck, bad things). This custom was introduced by the Chinese to Japan in the eighth century.
In Japanese it is written: 鬼は外福は内
Origin of Mamemaki Oni
Like most customs, this one was introduced by the Chinese. In Japan this ritual began in the ceremony called Tsuina or Oniyarai, which was performed in late winter, in the house of the emperor of the Heian period (794 to 1185).
In the story the characters represented are an Oni and a woman. According to an old legend, an old lady tries to steal something from an old man. But the figure of the old man was a disguise of the Oni (ogre) who has the power to disguise himself as a human being.
When the old man saw the theft, he ended up revealing his true ogre nature. Scared, the old woman picked up the first thing she saw: soy beans and threw them at him. This is how the tradition of throwing soy beans mamemaki.
This custom dates back to the year 706 when it was actually used "peach branch", only after the mentioned story, soy beans started to be used. The peach is related to the fable of momotarou who defeated onis.
Why Soy Beans?
The Japanese believe that soybeans are a symbol to purify the house and drive out all evil spirits and bad luck. And the spring setsubun was and perhaps still is considered by some to be the Lunar New Year in the calendar, that is, a kind of New Year's Eve.
This date was accompanied by an extensive special ritual of purification from the evil of the previous year and the warding off of demons that might bring disease in the following year.
Another custom is to eat soy foods, preferably the amount of soy beans equivalent to your age to stay in optimal health. Among them we have natto, misoshiru and tofu, we even have an article by soy-derived foods.
People also eat a special sushi called Ehoomaki. This sushi cannot be sliced, because cutting means ruptures, separation and with that you can cut your luck.
At the festival, the temples are decorated with white and red colors, where the celebrations take place, it is customary to throw special grains for visitors. despite the Setusbun being celebrated throughout Japan, it is not considered a national holiday.
The channel video below shows a little more about this ritual Mamemaki practiced by students of a school:
