The New Year

This should have gone up a while ago. Oops!

The New Year celebration in Japan is different than New Year in the States. Here, I feel like there is a greater importance placed on the changing of the year and the symbolism of “new” year.  There are multiple ways the changing from one year to the next is commemorated here. I will try to give a succinct description of some of them , but honestly you could write a whole book delving into the specifics.

Food

New Years day food preparations take hours and hours of work to put together and include a specially prepared group bento called a “Osechi”. It contains herring roe, dried Japanese anchovies, sweetened black soybeans, crushed burdock root, sweet pure of chestnuts and sweet potato, shrimp, and steamed fish paste.  Each has a specific reason for being in the meal and has importance. Alongside the osechi sushi or sashimi is served and also rice cake (mochi) soup that is made differently depending on the region.

Bells

At midnight on December 31, Buddhist temples all over Japan ring their bells a total of 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins in Buddhist belief, and to get rid of the 108 worldly desires regarding sense and feeling in every Japanese citizen.

First

The new Year brings the first time something will happen in the particular year, many of these thing are celebrated. An example of this is the first sunrise of the year. Before sunrise on January 1, people often drive to the coast or climb a mountain so that they can see the first sunrise of the New Year. Here in Tokushima people watched it over the Yoshino River or on top of Mt. Bizan

Hatsumōde is the first trip to a shrine or temple. Many people visit a shrine after midnight on December 31 (when they bells can be heard) or sometime during the day on January 1. People pray for their safety and for peace in the New Year.

Mochi

I mentioned the making of Mochi in a previous post but didn’t quite realize its significance at the time. During the New Year celebration mochi is not only eaten in the New Year meal but also used in decorations and hold symbolic meaning. The mocha is stacked and places with pine fronds and oranges on a pedestal as an offering for prosperity and longevity.

Postcards

New Year post cards are sent out similarly to Christmas cards in the states. They often have pictures of the New Year’s zodiac animal on them or a family picture.  This  year’s animal is the horse so we got a few postcards with horses on them wishing us luck in the new year. They post cards are often written one by one and in calligraphy.

Otoshidame

A gift of money is given to children in special paper envelopes on New Year’s Day. Every child in a family receives the same amount of money, usually around $100 dollars

We celebrated New Year ’s Eve by going down to the Shinmachi arcade by the river. We saw live music, ramen eating contest and lively hosts. We ate some roasted sweet potatoes and walked down the boardwalk where there were vendors sell street food and local goods. They handed out helium balloons and projected a live countdown on a large screen. At the stroke of midnight we let the balloons into the air and streamers shot into the sky alongside fireworks. We rode out bike home shortly afterward and could hear the bells ringing from the nearby temples.

Setsubun

Monday was Setsubun in Japan and while it’s not a National Holiday it is still something that is celebrated. It is celebrated on February 3 or 4  which is the first day of spring on the Japanese lunar calendar. The holiday is to purify the home and ring in the new spring season. This is done by warding off the bad spirits and welcoming in the luck.

According to Japan Guide “Some families put up small decorations of sardine heads and holly leaves (柊鰯 hiragi iwashi) on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter.”  The smell is said to ward of the demons. I haven’t seen any of these decorations and I’m happier to say I haven’t smelled them either. 

Another way of warding off demons is to throw beans at them. The head of the household (or classroom in our case) dresses up in an “Oni” mask and beats a drum, surprising and frightening the children.

After the children recover from their initial scare they are supposed to throw fortune beans (roasted soybeans) at him and scream “Demons out! Luck in!" (鬼は外! 福は内! Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!

This is done at home, at school, and at temples. The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them.

In order to bring luck back in, people (usually children) pick up the beans and eat them. One bean is eaten for every year the person has been alive and sometimes one more for the upcoming year.

Initially this was supposed to happen on a day I would not be at work but as luck would have it I got to witness this event with a class that celebrated a day late. The kids all made Oni masks pretending to scare each other, then the "real" Oni came in and frightened them all to death. 

The event while symbolic was also a chance to scare the crap out of the kids while adults laughed at them and took pictures. Some kids cried so hard and for so long they didn't get a chance to throw anything at the demon. Does this mean a year of bad luck?

The demon is also used as a bargaining chip, similar to the way Santa is around Christmas, only in reverse. For a few weeks before the event children were warned “Oh, you better be good or Oni will come” and after the event the same thing but with more frightened responses from the children. “Oni will come back if you are not good”  

Aside from frightening children and hanging fish heads near your door, other celebrations of Setsubun involve eating Nori Maki. Nori Maki is a special 20cm sushi roll that is eaten in it entirely rather than being sliced. In some areas, the Nori Maki is made with a stuffing of seven colors which represent Shichi Fukujin (seven gods of happiness).  

The roll is eaten in silence while facing the “lucky direction” of the year. Those who can eat the whole thing without saying a word are promised luck with their business, longevity, and freedom from illness.

Clint and I didn’t attempt to eat the Nori Maki though we did see them at the store and they looked quite tasty. We were attending a Super Bowl viewing party and had pizza and other treats awaiting us. In hindsight maybe we should have stuck with the sushi and the hope of better luck for the Broncos.

Better Luck next year Broncos!!