| Setsubun, Demon Cleaning Season | | | | Eating Your Age |
| Setsubun (SEH-TSU-BOON) is a Japanese festival | | | | After chasing all the demons and dad out of the |
| that takes place on Feburary 3rd, the day before | | | | house, everyone has to eat their age in soybeans. |
| the start of Spring on the old Japanese calendar. | | | | Easy enough for the kids, but some old people |
| It has some fun traditions that go along with it. It | | | | who I have talked to complain that it's tough to |
| is a day to clean away all the evil of the former | | | | eat that many! Some areas go one more and |
| year and to chase away all evil spirits. This is done | | | | make everyone eat their age plus one more for |
| by "mamemaki" (MAH-MEH-MAH-KEY), or bean | | | | luck in the coming year as well. The more luck the |
| scattering. Kids love this. | | | | better, I say! |
| Demon Chasing, or Pelting Dad with Soybeans | | | | Sushi Rolls |
| Now this is fun, and you can easily see why kids | | | | Another more recent tradition is for everyone to |
| love it so much. Roasted soybeans are gathered | | | | face a certain direction and eat a big, long sushi |
| and thrown around the house and out the | | | | roll. The exact direction changes every year |
| windows. Why soybeans? Demons can not stand | | | | according to the Chinese zodiac. This year (2010) |
| the smell evidently, or so I am told. Although I | | | | it is West South West. You are not allowed to |
| note that supermarkets often sell peanuts instead | | | | talk while eating and once you start eating you |
| of soybeans, I suspect because they are cheaper. | | | | are not allowed to pause until you finish the sushi |
| Maybe demons don't like peanuts either. | | | | roll. After you finish, good luck will come to you! |
| Anyways. When throwing the beans, people call | | | | This tradition started in Western Japan (Kansai) |
| out "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!", which roughly | | | | but has since spread to most of the country due |
| means "Demons out, luck in!". People really get into | | | | in no small part to grocery stores and sushi shops |
| this. One old woman told me that when you | | | | that don't mind selling more sushi rolls every |
| throw the beans out the window, you have to be | | | | February. |
| sure to slam the window shut as fast as possible | | | | Conclusion |
| so the evil spirits can not get back in! Typically the | | | | Setsubun is a fun time for all, and any excuse to |
| father of the house will don an Oni mask. An oni | | | | eat a sushi roll is a good one. If you come to |
| is a kind of devil or demon in Japanese mythology. | | | | Japan around Feburary, try to get here around |
| The children enjoy throwing the soybeans at him | | | | the 3rd so you too can enjoy some |
| and chasing him away. | | | | demon-chasing. |