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| Setsubun |  |
| The word Setsubun originally referred to the day preceding the days thought to be the beginnig of each season on the old calendar we used unitl 1871,but it came to be applied more specifically to the day before the first day of spring called (risshun), which falls on Feburary 3rd or 4th on the solar calendar. In the evening of setsubun beans (usually soybeans) are scattered inside and outside the house or building to the chant of "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (Out with the devil! In with good luck!) to drive out evil demons and to summon good luck. After the bean-throwing peope eat the same number of beans as their age because of the tradition that it will bring good health aduring the year. |
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The red mask represents a common image
of oni (an imaginary creature). At some homes, someone in the family might put the mask on and play oni so that eveyone else can throw beans at him |
| These pictures were taken at a setsubun
ceremony held at Kitain temple in my city. People on stage are throwing beans saying "Oni wa soto! " "Fuku wa uchi!"
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| Valentine's Day |  |
| As Feb 14th approaches, lots
of men become anxious to find out how many (if any) chocolates they will
get from women. Here in Japan Valentine's Day is the day when women express
their love to their partners (or to men they would like to be their partners)
by giving chocolates. It is said that this custom was started by a chocolate
company in the late 50s to boost their sales. This promotion was a hit,
and now the chocolate companies in Japan sell a large portion of their
annual sales during the week before February 14th. This custom is especially
popular among young people, although it is also common for older married
women to give chocolate to their husbands. In the course of the development
of this custom, a thing called "giri-choco" has been created.
Giri choco (obligatory chocolate) is the chocolate given to men (bosses,
colleagues, male friends, fathers, uncles etc) that women have no romantic
interest in just as a token of friendship or gratitude. On White Day(Mar. 14) men are given an opportunity to return their love to their partners or their obligation to those who gave them giri choco by giving candies or cookies.. |
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These are one of the typical boxed chocolates
given on Valentine's Day. Usually a note or a card is accompanied with
them. |
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| Hinamatsuri |  |
| Every year as March 3 (Hinamatsuri;
the Dolls Festival) approaches many households throughout Japan set up
a stand of several tiers and display dolls representing the Emperor and
Empress and all their courtiers (people serving in court) dressed in Heian
period costumes to wish the girls good health and long life. Even though
the origin of Hinamatsuri dates back to the medieval times, it wasn't until
the mid-Edo period that Hinamatsuri took on its present form. In Heian
period courtiers called in "diviners" on the third day of the
third month to transfer their own impurities and trouble to paper images
(called katashiro), and floated them down a river. (This custom is believed
to have come from China.) The hina dolls of the modern festival are thought
to be a combination of the katashiro and dolls called hina with which Heian-period
girls played. There is no set rules as to how big the hina stand (how many
tiers, or how many dolls) are supposed to be, however the more popular
ones seem to have the Emperor and Empress on the top shelf, three ladies
in waiting on the second, five court musician on the third, government
ministers on the fourth and three court officials on the fifth. There may
even be some representations of furniture and foods below them. |
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This set is quite big (seven tiers) but smaller sets (one,two, three, five tiers) are popular as well among people who have limited space in their houses. |
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The Emperor. |
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The Empress. |  |
Three of five court musicians. |
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Two of three court officials. |
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Some furniture, mainly chests and dressers. |
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Two of three ladies in waiting. |  |
Tableware and Rhombus-shaped rice cakes |
| Ume |  |
| Blooming from February to March,
ume (plum)----also known as Japanese apricot----has been a favorite of
the Japanese people as a harbinger of spring. It gives off a nice, distinctive
fragrance and bears fruits that are less sweet than those of European plums
or European apricots. Although the fruit is not commonly eaten raw by itself
at all, numerous ume related food products such as wine, vinegar, and pickles
are abundant. In the Nara period, when ume is believed to have come from
China, ume was so popular that reference to "flowers" could be
assumed to mean those of plums, and lots of poems concerned with plums
are found in a famous anthology of poems, Manyooshuu.There are many ume
gardens throughout Japan, so please go check them out! It might be a great
opportunity for you to feel the arrival of spring in Japan. |
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Although ume viewing parties usually don't get as lively as those held during sakura viewing season due in part to the cold weather, I still saw many groups enjoying themselves. |  |
A picture of people riding a miniature train through the garden. |
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As you can see many food stands were set up at the garden to enhance the festive mood. |  |
Ume doesn't quite have the gorgeous aura that sakura (cherry blossom) does, but I really like the "spiky" appearance of ume. |
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| Hanami |  |
| It's been said that Japanese
people are very conscious of seasonal changes.Throughout history numerous
activities have been held to appreciate the passing and coming of seasons.
However, hanami (cherry blossom viewing) would have to be one of the most
popular appreciation-of-seasonal-change customs that we have now. In early
April (depending on where you live) you see a lot of people spreading out
their picnic mats and enjoying themselves while eating, drinking and singing
to feel the arrival of spring. These days competition for good viewing
spots has become fierce and at some places people rope off their place
to "reserve" it. The origin of hanami dates back to Heian period
(794-1191), when the aristocrats at court held parties to enjoy the beauty
of sakura (cherry blossoms). Over the course of centuries the custom spread
to the warrior class and took on a more opulent aspect ,and hanami held
by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a warlord) in Daigo temple in 1598 is remembered
as the most extravagant one ever. Surprisingly, it wasn't until Edo period
that hanami became popular among the common people. As hanami season approaches,
the progress of the cherry-blossom trees in full bloom are covered on TV
and in the newspapers. These maps project the geographical areas of Japan
that are best for viewing cherry blossom tress. There is said to be about 300 different varieties of sakura, but the three most common ones are someiyoshino (the most common one, usuaslly planted in parks and along riverbanks), yamazakura (grows wild in mountainous areas south from central Honshu), and shidarezakura (often seen in temples; its branches hang down like that of a willow). |
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Happy picnickers having a good time. |  |
In my opinion, this is the best time to
see salary men and fellow office workers at play. Many groups send a few
co-workers ahead to get the best spots and "reserve" them for
their sakura viewing pleasure. |
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Close up shot of sakura. Unlike ume (plum)
cherry blossoms have almost no fragrance.
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This was taken while I was in a moving car. It's hard to make a distinction between the sky and sakura. Not a good picture, I am sorry. |
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One thing I recommend is to go sakura viewing in the evening. There are lots of places where dimmed lights are hung so that people can appreciate a more enchanting version of sakura. |
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A common scene for this beautiful spring
day. |
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A picture of sakura lined along Route 407. About 5 km from where I live there is a section on Route 407 (which runs from Saitama to Tochigi) that has hundreds of sakura. When they are in full bloom you feel like you are going through a tunnel made of sakura! |
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Another picture of sakura along Route 407. |
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| Kodomono Hi |  |
If you see fish-shaped streamers
flying outside of people's houses, it means it is getting close to the
May 5th festival. May 5th has been made a national holiday called "Children's
Day". Families with sons all over Japan wish for the boys' (as opposed
to the celebration for girls on Mar 3rd) health and prosperity by setting
out gogatsu ningyo (samurai warrior dolls and their armaments) inside the
houses and hoisting koinobori (carp-shaped streamers) outside. In the old
days,there was a custom involving "shobu" (iris) that originated
in China. Because of the common belief back then that irises kept away
evil spirits, people suspended irises from their roofs, drank sake composed
of iris as an ingredient and took iris bath (this custom is still observed
by some people.) During the 12th or 13th century the word "shobu"
came to be associated with its homonym meaning "military spirit",
and people started decorating paper samurai helmets with irises in hopes
that their boys will become courageous soldiers later in life and this
custom evolved into what we call Gogatsu ningyo (or Musha ningyo) in the
mid- Edo period.
Many people do not own koinobori because of the limited space on their property and the cost. If you do go to the countryside, though, where there are wider spaces, and you can see huge carp streamers waving in the air. These streamers have their roots in the Chinese legend in which a carp swam up over the falls of the Yellow River and become a dragon. By hoisting carp streamers, people wish young boys to be as courageous and strong as the carp in the legend.
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