Events

So you survived oshogatsu (Japanese New Year’s) and are looking forward to the end of March and the blooming of the cherry trees, but the reality is there are at least 60 more days to go before a single pink blossom appears. While it will not bring the blossoms any closer, did you know that in Japan, spring starts on February 3rd? In Japan, Setsubun is traditionally the day before the beginning of spring. The name means “seasonal division,” but it usually refers to the division between winter and spring, properly called Risshun and celebrated yearly on February 3rd as part of the Spring Festival (Haru Matsuri). Setsubun can be thought of as a sort of New Year’s Eve, due to its association with the lunar new year, and is accompanied by a ritual to cleanse away the evil of the previous year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This unique ritual is called mamemaki, literally “bean throwing.” Mamemaki is performed at shrines and temples all over Japan, and if you have kids, elementary schools do it too! Roasted soybeans (called “fortune beans”) are thrown either out the door or at a member of the…