Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', but usually the term refers to the spring Setsubun, properly called 2= to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called. Setsubun has its origins in, a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the eighth century.
Mamemaki
The custom of mamemakifirst appeared in the Muromachi period. It is usually performed by the toshiotoko of the household, or else the male head of the household. Roasted soybeans are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing an Oni mask, while the people say "Demons out! Luck in!" and slam the door. This is still common practice in households but many people will attend a shrine or temple's spring festival where this is done. The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one's life, and in some areas, one for each year of one's life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come. The gestures of mamemaki look similar to the Western custom of throwing rice at newly married couples after a wedding.
Other practices
At Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines all over the country, there are celebrations for Setsubun. Priests and invited guests will throw roasted soy beans, small envelopes with money, sweets, candies and other prizes. In some bigger shrines, even celebrities and sumo wrestlers will be invited; these events are televised nationally. At Sensō-ji in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo, crowds of nearly 100,000 people attend the annual festivities. It is customary in Kansai area to eat uncut makizushi called, a type of futomaki, in silence on Setsubun while facing the year's lucky compass direction, determined by the zodiac symbol of that year. This custom started in Osaka, but in recent years eho-maki can be purchased at stores in the Kanto area and it is getting more recognized as a part of Setsubun tradition. Charts are published and occasionally packaged with uncut makizushi during February. Some families put up small decorations of sardine heads and holly leaves on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter. Ginger sake is customarily drunk at Setsubun.
Historical practices
The new year was felt to be a time when the spirit world became close to the physical world, thus the need to perform mamemaki to drive away any wandering spirits that might happen too close to one's home. Other customs during this time included religious dance, festivals, and bringing tools inside the house that might normally be left outside, to prevent the spirits from harming them. Because Setsubun was considered to be apart from normal time, people might practice role reversal. Such customs included girls doing their hair in the styles of older women and vice versa, wearing disguises, and cross-dressing. This custom is still practiced among geisha and their clients when entertaining on Setsubun. Traveling entertainers, who were normally shunned during the year because they were considered vagrants, were welcomed on Setsubun to perform morality plays. Their vagrancy worked to their advantage in these cases because they could take the spirits with them.
Regional variations
While the practice of eating makizushi on Setsubun is historically only associated with the Kansai area of Japan, the practice has become popular nationwide due largely to marketing efforts by grocery and convenience stores. In the Tōhoku area of Japan, the head of the household would take roasted beans in his hand, pray at the family shrine, and then toss the sanctified beans out the door. Peanuts are sometimes used in place of soybeans. There are many variations on the famous Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi chant. For example, in the city ofAizuwakamatsu, people chant "鬼の目玉ぶっつぶせ！", lit. "Blind the demons' eyes!".
