Each year on February 3rd the celebration known as Setsubun takes place across Japan. This celebration, literally meaning “seasonal division,” marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The celebration entails lively rituals to chase away symbolic demons that includes drinking sake, eating special sushi, and scattering soybeans. Thus the evils of the previous year are believed to be driven out, as fortune is welcomed.

Driving Away Demons with Beans

In keeping with other traditions that are practiced around this time of year, the purpose of celebrating Setsubun is also one of cleaning and purification. The day is used to drive demons and evil spirits out of one’s home with the help of roasted soybeans. These beans are known as ‘fuku-mame,’ meaning “lucky beans,” as they are supposed to be a tool that rids the home of evil and invites fortune in.

Traditionally, the oldest male member of the family dresses up as an oni, a kind of demon or ogre in Japanese folklore. The other members of the family then throw the roasted soybeans (sometimes peanuts) at the ‘oni’ to drive it out of the home by chanting: “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” This chant translates to “Demons out! Fortune in!” and represents the act of cleaning one’s home from any evil or harmful spirits.

In addition to the oni mask that is being worn during Setsubun, those who throw the beans often don the face of the deity Okame. She is the kami of luck, good fortune and kindness, portrayed with a white friendly face, with chubby cheeks, and a warm smile. She acts as the defender against misfortune, scaring off oni and other wicked creatures with the help of the soybeans.

While the beans are usually thrown directly at the oni, they are also scattered in the front entrance as well as throughout the home and outside around and in front to make sure to scare away any demons in hiding.

Afterwards, people often eat the number of roasted soybeans that corresponds to their current age – plus one more – in order to make the coming year an especially lucky one.

It is also customary to drink sake and eat a type of fat sushi roll (makizushi) called eho-maki that are found in supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants. Each eho-maki is filled with seven ingredients, as seven is considered one of the luckiest numbers in Japan.

Though makizushi is usually cut into pieces for convenient eating, eho-maki is kept as one long roll. The exact meaning of the word eho-maki translates to “lucky direction roll.” It is said that eating these in complete silence will bring good luck in the coming year.

Try It?

Setsubun heralds spring in a very unique way. Keiko and I will practice this tradition at home and also participate in an afternoon celebration at our local temple.

If you are interested in chasing out demons and ogres out of your homes and off grounds on the 3rd of February, why not throw a handful of roasted soybeans for yourself this year and take care of your good fortune?

Some of my former colleagues and students at the University of Maine may remember Setsubun from the times I invited them to participate in the celebration in my campus office. It is on a long list of memories I cherish from my service as the Executive-in-Residence at the Maine Business School.

Today was the coldest and wettest day of the winter season (about 40F) and weather forecasts predicted we might have snow in Tokyo! While there may have been some flurries somewhere in the great metropolis, I found no evidence of snow today.

Tomorrow, the forecast is for a return to mild temperatures (mid 50’sF) and clear blue skies. CORRECTION: The mid-day temp today was 63F!!

That said, I took the following photo in our local shopping mall this evening––

I had a Maine flashback moment and wondered if my neighbors had emptied the shelves of milk and bread!?

Having been a frequent visitor to Japan for twenty years and now residing in Tokyo, there is one unique characteristic of life in Japan that impresses me daily –– unmatched customer service called “Omotenashi,” a term that translates in both word and deed as hospitality, offering customers unreserved attention and service or to entertain guests wholeheartedly.

One only needs to reside in Japan for a short time to realize just how much attention to detail is paid across many sectors of the service industry and appreciate the extraordinary customer experience you find all over Japan in shops, in restaurants, or in taxis.

From my personal perspective, in the broader context of all my personal relationships and interactions, it is the evident ubiquitous Japanese politeness that leads to Japan’s world famous customer service.  I always have a feeling of being appreciated, an almost sensory experience of being on the receiving end of kindness and enthusiasm.

To understand the difference, consider the basic foundational concept of customer service expression –– the “customer is always right.”  In the United States, the concept, often used but abused, is implied in the business creed of “The Customer is King.”  In Japan, the concept is reflected in a deeply held and practiced belief that  the  “The Customer is God.”

I recently read an interesting article in The Japan Times that cited the Tokyo taxi experience as an example of the Omotenashi.  You can read to piece by clicking here: Tokyo Taxi Experience

2020 – The Year of the Rat

Shogatsu –– Celebrating the New Year in Japan

The New Year (Shogatsu) is the most important holiday in Japan. Think of it as spring cleaning, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the usual end-of-year activities all rolled into one.  Given that description, the year-end period, called Shiwasu, is a very hectic and somewhat stressful time.

First, most businesses in Japan shut down from January 1 to January 3, so everyone is very busy trying to tie up loose ends to end the year on a good note.  Beside extremely long work hours, there is the need to attend the many bonenkai or “forgetting the year” parties as well as Christmas-related parties and events during the period.

Second, you are expected to clean your home from top to bottom to be ready to greet the new year afresh.

Finally, there is getting ready for the Shogatsu celebrations, which are traditionally focused on family gatherings characterized by the observance of religious and heritage-related activities.  (For millions of Japanese that includes a long trip back to their hometown and dealing with over-crowded planes, trains and extreme highway traffic jams.)

As this is my first New Year as a resident of Japan I am very excited and looking forward to Shogatsu.  Here are some of the Japanese New Year’s traditions and activities Keiko and I have planned.

New Year’s Eve and Hatsumode ––

Given all the aforementioned frantic activity, you may be surprised that for most Japanese New Year’s Eve itself, called Omisoka, is traditionally celebrated very quietly.

On New Year’s Eve we will be together with Keiko’s sister Yuko and our niece Mai.  We will spend the evening at home watching a popular musical review on TV while enjoying a traditional Donabe dinner along with sake.

Before the New Year arrives we will also eat a mandatory serving of toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles).  Like many other old, entrenched traditions in this country, most people have forgotten exactly how this custom of eating soba noodles on New Year’s Eve began, and even what it’s supposed to mean.

There appears to be many reasons for this consumption of soba noodles. That it either promotes longevity and/or good fortune is the most popular.  One authority states that soba is supposed to signify strength and resiliency since the buckwheat plant itself bounces back even after being flattened by wind and rain.  Another, following Confucian thinking, attributes it to the long, thin shape of the noodles which signify the wish for a long life.

Whatever, as I slurp my toshikoshi soba, I’ll ponder whether I want those noodles to mean a long life, a clean slate, good fortune — or all of the above.

As midnight nears, we will walk to our neighborhood Nishiarai Daishi Buddhist temple and join many thousands of other Tokyoites for Hatsumode, the first temple/shrine visit of the New Year.  Here and all throughout the country, temple bells will ring out the old year 108 times, once for each of 108 traditional evils.

New Year’s Day, Hatsuhinode and Hatsyume ––

Being in “the land of the rising sun,” on January 1 I intend to witness the first sunrise of not just the new year but of a new decade.

According to both Shinto belief and Buddhist tradition, Toshigami—the god of the new year harvests and the spirits of ancestors—arrives when the sun rises on New Year’s Day. It is said that if you stand outside and make a wish during the sunrise, you will be blessed by Toshigami and your dream will come true during the year to come!

At 76, I’ll follow Confucian thought and ask for a long, peaceful, and uneventful life.

With my vivid memory of an over-night climb of Mt. Fuji and reaching the summit to witness the sun rise, I am excited to be up at dawn to experience the first sunrise of the new year from Tokyo.  While the experience will lack the drama of Mt. Fuji, it will be just as momentous and a worthy addition to my “bucket list” accomplishments.

I will also try to recall my Hatsyume, a Japanese tradition that literally translates as “First Dream.”  In Japan, the very first dream following New Year’s Eve is considered auspicious and sets the mood for the coming year.

Fujikawa Family Gathering ––

On January 2, Keiko’s mom will host a gathering of the Fujikawa family at her home where an  enormous quantity of traditional Japanese food will be served and consumed along with generous amounts of beer and sake.  I have always enjoyed gatherings of the Fujikawa clan.

In my research into Japanese New Year traditions I learned that it was important for family members to have fun and laugh during Shogatsu.  In fact I found a Japanese proverb, “Warau kado niwa fuku kitaru” (“Luck comes to a house with lots of laughter”).

So, since it will be a long day I am planning to get everyone involved in having fun playing some traditional shogatsu-specific games and activities.

The Koma-mawashi (spinning top) along with Tako-age (kite flying) are both centuries old traditional activities done over New Year’s in Japan.

If I can find the equipment, we may also play Hanetsuki, a traditional game in which two people each hold a “hagoita” wooden racket and hit a “hane,” or shuttlecock, attempting to volley without letting it drop to the ground.  The hagoita looks like a short cricket bat with a wider blade. The shuttlecock is made with feathers and a spherical piece of wood.

A Day of Rest and Kakizome ––

On the third day of the holiday I will rest and try to unleash my creative talents by observing a final Japanese New Year tradition –– Kakizome, the direct translation of which is “first writing,” is the first calligraphy written in the new year.  For me it will be the first ever attempt, with Keiko’s help, at calligraphy to write a kanji character. 

Later in the day, I may try writing a Haiku love poem to Keiko.  “Haiku” is a traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of 3 lines. The first and last lines of a Haiku have 5 syllables and the middle line has 7 syllables.

Learning and practicing enduring Japanese traditions is both intellectual stimulating and fun.  I can’t wait for Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival) in early February, to really ensure that the upcoming year will be a good one.  Stay tuned!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and joyful holiday season.

Keiko, Toma and Paul

Tokyo, Japan | 2019