Setsubun: The Day Between Two Seasons
Setsubun (??) literally means “the day between two seasons”. People celebrate Setsubun on either the 3rd or 4th of February, the last day of winter, and the day before the spring season on the present according to the old calendar.
Bean throwing called mamemaki (???) is done at home on the night of Setsubun. People scatter roasted soy beans inside and outside their houses shouting “Fortune in, devils out” Fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto (???????).?Then they eat the same number of beans as their age and wish for good health. Bean is mame (?) in Japanese, which symbolizes good health.(1)
However, not every household does this anymore today. Nowadays the custom is mainly observed at temples and shrines, and famous personalities who where born under the zodiac sign for that year are invited to throw beans from the stage.(2)
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(1) “An English Introduction to Japan and its People”, by Yoshie Matsumoto; Nova, 2000.
(2) “Obunsha’s New Sunrise Japanese-English Dictionary”; Obunsha, 1993. Picture: Celebrations for Setsubun in Ikuta Jinja, Kobe 03 February 2006. Author: Shadi Hijazi. Year: 2006. Work licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Licence.
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