Setsubun 節分 (Bean-Throwing Festival)

This past Thursday was a big Japanese holiday called Setsubun. We didn't get a day off but we did get to throw beans at things. Setsubun marks the first day of spring on the Japanese calendar and according to wikipedia the word means "seasonal division." From what I know of kanji, 節 (setsu) is season and 分 (bun) means to divide, so that makes sense.

A big part of the holiday is getting rid of evil spirits and cleansing everything in preparation for the new year. This is usually done by throwing mame beans at demon-masked children while yelling "I PURGE THEE DEMON. IN WITH THE LUCK! [creative translation]," followed by slamming the door in the mask-wearer's face.

We did something similar at school by chucking packs of beans at fellow mask-wearing classmates. We also ate traditional setsubun makizushi (sushi rolls) while closing our eyes, facing this years lucky direction (South-South-East ??) and wishing for a lot of good luck, all without saying a single word while we ate.

Makizushi is filled with supposedly lucky foods and I also got to eat a couple of them at home thanks to okaasan. Afterward, I went out to celebrate the holiday at Yoshida jinja, which was having a festival for Setsubun. It was the largest shrine festival I've ever seen and I had to wade through a half mile of crowded, vendor-lined streets before reaching the base of the shrine.

Once I got there, I didn't go up into the actual shrine area because it was too crowded. Instead, I went and met Hubbard-sensei, her husband and some other AKP people at a beer tent on Imadegawa Street and we partied for the next hour :)

A photo from the lounge on Friday while I was writing the essay I didn't write Thursday night:

We were also watching a spectacularly dubbed-over version of HP and the Sorcerer's Stone >:)