Today is February - the 3rd, while on my way back to home i saw few men throwing beans at the entrance of their houses and chanting some words which obviously i couldn't understand. But i was curious to know, so i asked some of my friends and they told me it is "Setsubun " today meaning from tommorow onwards officially spring will start.
Setsubun has a special meaning for the people of Japan. Every year on this day this festival is celebrated to welcome spring. "Setsubun" literally means "seasonal division". According to the ancient Japanese calender the first day of each season( Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) were called as 'rishhun', 'rikka', 'rishuu' and 'ritto' respectively and the day before each season was celebrated as "Setsubun". But over the period of time this day is only celebrated before spring.
For many centuries people of Japan have been celebrating this festival with the pupose of chasing away 'evil'. As all traditional festivals, setsubun is celebrated in many variations throughout the country but the most common way is 'Mamemaki'. Mamemaki literally means scattering of soybeans(mame) to drive the evil(Oni) out of the house and welcome 'happiness(fuku) ' into the house. Some people put sardines(fish) and a sprig of holly near their entrance. The smell of the fish and the possibility of being poked by the holly sprig will keep the bad spirits or bad luck away from the house.Usually the head of the house in the evening scatters beans outside the house to chase the evil out and then throws beans inside the entrance for good luck to come inside while chanting "Oni wa sota!Fuku wa uchi!". Afterwards the other members of the family pick the number of beans respective to their present age and eat them. Eating 'mame" ensures good fortune in the coming year.
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There are several stories about how 'setsubun' orginated, but the most famous can be seen in 'Kyogen' performed every year in the Mibu temple of Kyoto. The play begins when an ogre (Devil) disguises himself to an old widow. This ogre with his magical powers( magical mallet) design a beautiful 'kimono'. The old widow is tempted to have the 'kimono', so decides to steal it. She gets the 'ogre' drunk and steals the kimono but still the old widow is not satified and wishes to steal the 'magical mallet'. The ogre was taken aback by the greed of the widow, so he decides to reveal his 'trueself' to the widow. Once in his ownself, the old widow is so scared that she throws the first thing that comes to her hand which happens to be 'soybeans' . The effect of the beans was such that the 'ogre' not only ran away, but the old woman was left healthier and wiser besides being free from 'evil'.
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