{"id":44,"date":"2009-02-02T22:29:51","date_gmt":"2009-02-03T02:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=44"},"modified":"2018-07-27T18:04:40","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T18:04:40","slug":"risshun-%e7%ab%8b%e6%98%a5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/risshun-%e7%ab%8b%e6%98%a5\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Culture: Risshun (\u7acb\u6625)"},"content":{"rendered":"

All over Japan people are celebrating the season of Risshun (\u7acb\u6625<\/strong>).\u00a0 Risshun (\u7acb\u6625<\/strong>) refers to the spring setsubun (\u7bc0\u5206<\/strong>).\u00a0 Setsubun (\u7bc0\u5206<\/strong>)\u00a0is a term that refers to the day before each new season.\u00a0 Another term that is inter-changeable with the term risshun (\u7acb\u6625<\/strong>) is haru matsuri (\u6625\u796d<\/strong><\/span>).\u00a0 Haru matsuri (\u6625\u796d<\/strong><\/span>) literally means ‘spring festival’.\u00a0 The haru matsuris (\u6625\u796d<\/strong><\/span>) are usually celebrated on the third of February.\u00a0\u00a0According to the lunar calendar, the\u00a0beginning of the spring setsubun begins on the 3rd of February.\u00a0 I like the risshun (\u7acb\u6625<\/strong>) because it’s just another excuse to party right after all the New Year’s festivities!<\/p>\n

Every haru matsuri (\u6625\u796d<\/strong><\/span>), the Japanese people\u00a0perform an interesting tradition called mamemaki (\u8c46\u6492\u304d<\/strong>).\u00a0 Mamemaki (\u8c46\u6492\u304d<\/strong>) is a ritual where beans are scattered for good luck.\u00a0 Usually, the responsibility of mamemaki (\u8c46\u6492\u304d<\/strong>) goes to the toshiotoko (\u5e74\u7537<\/strong>).\u00a0 The toshiotoko (\u5e74\u7537<\/strong>) is the eldest male in the household.\u00a0 If there is no surviving adult male in the household, the honors are passed down to the eldest female of the household.\u00a0 ‘The scattering of beans,’ sounds kind of dull right?\u00a0 Well, it can get very comical within a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n

Here’s what I mean by comical: imagine a member of your family wearing a oni (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>) mask and getting showered with beans!\u00a0 An oni (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>) mask is a mask of a demon or a troll.\u00a0 Onis (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>) are mythological creatures that are depicted with disfigured faces.\u00a0 Ok, back to the bean throwing.\u00a0 A family member will throw the beans at the oni (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>) while chanting “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi (\u9b3c\u306f\u5916! \u798f\u306f\u5185<\/strong>).”\u00a0 When translated into English, it means, “Demons begone, good luck come in!”\u00a0 It’s thought that throwing the beans at the oni (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>) (or the poor family member who volunteers to be the victim) will cast away evil spirits from the household.<\/p>\n

\"\"After the beans are thrown (or rather when the so called oni (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>) calls time-out) everyone will sit together and gather all the beans to eat them.\u00a0 The beans are roasted beforehand, and are\u00a0therefore ready for consumption.\u00a0 In particular these beans are soybeans called irimame (\u7092\u308a\u8c46<\/strong>).\u00a0 Eating the beans, that’s the fun part.\u00a0 Acting as the oni (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>), well\u00a0all I’m going to\u00a0say is that I learned my lesson!\u00a0 Once, I gladly offered to be the oni (\u9b3c<\/strong><\/span>) thinking that it would be cool to wear the mask.\u00a0 The mask wasn’t the problem.\u00a0 Who knew that roasted beans can turn into a weapon?\u00a0 Like I said, I learned my lesson!\u00a0 Lol.\u00a0 Ok, time to head out for today, hope everyone enjoyed reading this post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All over Japan people are celebrating the season of Risshun (\u7acb\u6625).\u00a0 Risshun (\u7acb\u6625) refers to the spring setsubun (\u7bc0\u5206).\u00a0 Setsubun (\u7bc0\u5206)\u00a0is a term that refers to the day before each new season.\u00a0 Another term that is inter-changeable with the term risshun (\u7acb\u6625) is haru matsuri (\u6625\u796d).\u00a0 Haru matsuri (\u6625\u796d) literally means ‘spring festival’.\u00a0 The haru…<\/p>\n

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