Today is Setsubun, the day before the start of spring, according to the Japanese lunar calendar. This is a special day for driving out evil spirits and purifying the home. One way to do this is to decorate the entrance of your home with dried fish heads and holy leaves, this will deter the evil spirits from entering. Another custom, called mamemaki, is to throw roasted soybeans around your home and shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("Demons out, happiness in"). Afterwards you pick up and eat the number of beans which corresponds to your age. For dinner it is traditional to eat uncut futo-maki rolls in silence, facing the direction of Tokutoku-shin (the good fortune god), which for 2008 happens to be south/south-east.
Today is Setsubun, the day before the start of spring, according to the Japanese lunar calendar. This is a special day for driving out evil spirits and purifying the home. One way to do this is to decorate the entrance of your home with dried fish heads and holy leaves, this will deter the evil spirits from entering. Another custom, called mamemaki, is to throw roasted soybeans around your home and shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("Demons out, happiness in"). Afterwards you pick up and eat the number of beans which corresponds to your age. For dinner it is traditional to eat uncut futo-maki rolls in silence, facing the direction of Tokutoku-shin (the good fortune god), which for 2008 happens to be south/south-east.
Uta throwing beans out the window.
Oni-san!
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