Demons Out! Luck In!

Watch out Groundhog's Day...there's a much more entertaining holiday in town!

I know what you're all thinking: "But Jessica, Groundhog's Day is my favorite holiday!" Yes yes, as it is for many, but Japan has a corresponding holiday that casts a large shadow over America's "spring prediction" holiday.

Part of Sakura san...ready for battle!

Yesterday was February 2nd for us on this side of the world, and as luck would have it, I was teaching my kid's class at the Garlic Center. Perfect opportunity to teach them about this ridiculously silly American tradition. As I told them the tale of Puxsutawney Phil and how the entire nation watches as he decides whether he'll be scared of his shadow or not, they were particularly focused on the fact that groundhogs are fat and cute. Oh well, at least the picture of a groundhog that I chose was entertaining enough. Of course, we all know that spring will arrive on its own time and no rodent is going to be the predictor of that, but somehow, our entire country becomes fixated on this little guy for one day every year. That is some cutting edge news for you!

All of Takko Hoikuen

Japan, on the other hand, has a much more engaging way to bring in a new season. It's called Setsubun, or "Bean Throwing Festival". The setsubun is the day before each new season in Japan and is literally translated as "seasonal division", but the term is most commonly tied to the transition between winter and spring and is traditionally held on February 3rd. It was previously thought of as a type of New Years Eve, so the idea was to drive out the evil spirits of last year to bring in a clean slate for the year to come. Enter, the bean throwing.

The bean throwing part of Setsubun is called mamemaki, literally "bean throwing". If you made the connection between "mame" and edamame, then GOOD for YOU! The custom calls for the head male of the household to throw the fuku mame, "lucky beans", either out the door of the household or at someone dressed as an oni, "demon" or "ogre", while yelling, "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!"...translated as, "Demons out! Luck in!" Did anyone make the connection from this entry's title on their own? Anyone? The thought is that the lucky beans will drive away the evil spirits and purify the space for the coming year.

Warrior with his "fuku mame"

While I probably won't be running around my apartment yelling at the demons to get the hell out while throwing roasted soybeans everywhere, I was able to enjoy this ritual with, who else, my hoikuen kids. As you can imagine, kindergarteners would be the BEST ones to do this with. For those dedicated readers of mine, think back to Halloween and the haunted house; that's where my excitement level was at, except I knew that it was guaranteed that the kids would be freaked out.

Pep talk from the Principal

The entire school was to be involved in the event. Every kid from ages one to six was dressed in some kind of outfit; Sakura san (the oldest class and the group that I teach), had the boys decked out in samurai-like outfits, while the girls adorned hats decorated with paper oni. Everyone held a hand-made basket of some sort, except the boys of Sakura san and the school Principal; they carried wooden boxes filled with the "fuku mame". When it came time, the entire school lined up in the big hall, prepared to fight down the oni. Everyone looked excited, although the ones taking it more seriously looked brave, like they were getting ready for war. Everyone sang a song; although I didn't understand all of it, the jist of the song was telling the demons to leave so that they may have a lucky year. The children sang the song three times, raising the volume each time. After the last note of the third time, we heard the booming sounds of the taiko drum, which signaled the entrance for the oni. The kids knew, and their perfect line formation scattered as they frantically looked for the oni. Two of the high school students dressed as the oni (one green, one red) entered from opposite ends of the room. Bear in mind that these children are wee ones, so a high school student would tower over them. Add a scary demon mask and a giant club to the mix, and you're sure to get some freaked out kids.

Chaos!

The screaming and tears began almost immediately, although there were plenty of "fuku mame" being thrown at the oni. I did my best to capture the Kodak moments, but I had a number of little guys grabbing on to me, crying and trying to hide. I also tried not to laugh, but it was hard not to when I saw some of the biggest bullies in my class beside themselves with fear when the oni came near.

The hysterics lasted for all of 4-5 minutes. After enough "fuku mame" was thrown, the oni began to retreat, clearly defeated. Despite the fact that everyone was fine and they had won, many of the tears didn't stop until well after the oni had left.

It's a shame that this Japanese tradition hasn't carried over to America. Think about it; if you were a little kid and you knew that with bad luck comes this huge scary demon ogre, you'd think twice about doing something bad, right? Karmic retribution takes on an entirely different meaning! And I mean really, who is going to be scared of a fat little groundhog? Just something to think about, America...

Three of the cutest oni you will ever see!

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Coming up... This weekend is the long-anticipated happyokai for my Japanese Dance class! Stay tuned for an update, pictures and quite possibly, a video.

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