Today, February 3rd, marks the celebration of Setsubun here in Japan. Setsubun is a time to ward off the evil spirits of the New Year and to welcome in good fortune. Kids love this celebration because of how Setsubun is observed. Here you can see Aaron with an "oni" (a Japanese devil or evil spirit) mask---while Mia is throwing dried soybeans at him. Thus, ridding the house of evil spirits.
The throwing of beans is called mamemaki. While doing this, one must shout, "Oni wa soto" and "Fuku wa uchi", "devil get out" and "happiness come in", respectively.
Everyone takes turns wearing the mask, even Mia's baby doll.
And even my baby doll, too.
On Friday, Mia's school had a Setsubun party. The kids made oni masks and hats. They threw beans at the teachers who were hopping around in their oni costumes. Quite a sight!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun
1 comment:
I wish we could be there to celebrate the new year! I want details every step of the way.
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