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Setsubun is a special day in Japan that is celebrated every year on February 3. It originally referred to a change in the seasons, and so used to occur four times a year, on the day before the beginning of spring, summer, fall and winter, as marked in the traditional Japanese lunar calendar. However, over the years Setsubun came to be associated with the beginning of spring and the new year. The day used to be New Year’s Eve in Japan, and rituals were held to drive away the bad luck and misfortune of the previous year.
One such ritual, mamemaki, involves scattering roasted beans inside one’s house or apartment to loud chants of oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi (Literally: “demons out, luck in”). |
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Usually, the beans are scattered about by the “man of year,” a man in the family born in a year with the same Chinese zodiac sign as the coming year, or the head of the household. Also, family members customarily eat the number of beans that corresponds to their age. Eating the beans is said to prevent illness for the coming year and promote longevity.
Another event that has become popular on Setsubun is eating sushi rolls. This custom is said to originate in a marketing event that was first conducted by a nori (seaweed) wholesaler cooperative association in Osaka, and later picked up by the media and spread throughout the country as other food manufacturers jumped on board. A large sushi roll is held in the mouth as if playing a trumpet, and the entire roll is eaten while facing the auspicious direction for that year—it is said that this will bring good luck throughout the year.
Sushi rolls are used because it is believed that good fortune is rolled up into them, and they are eaten without cutting out of the hope that social ties will not be severed that year. |
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