TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
MORE LOCAL CUSTOMS: DANGO-BURUMAI (団子振る舞い)- In Some Parts of Ibaraki Prefecture, 42-Year-Old Men are Presented Rice Dumplings (dango) AND Some New Underwear!
5 February, 2021
Yaku-Yoke Dango (厄除け団子)- Rice Dumplings for Those at an Unlucky Age, sold at Shimotsuma`s Taiho Hachiman Shrine
By Avi Landau
On the evening of February 3rd, which is called SETSUBUN, families throughout Japan perform a popular ritual called MAME MAKI (literally- bean throwing). What happens is this: one member of the household, usually the father, dons a demon mask ( most often a simple paper job), while the rest of the family pelts him with soy beans ( or occassionally peanuts) while shouting ONI WA SOTO, FUKU WA UCHI ( Evil out, good fortune in) ! Then everyone eats their own age worth of beans. The original idea for doing this was to spiritually purify the home and fortify the body on what was then the New Year ( according the the old, luni-solar calendar), but these days most people probably do it JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT (and it IS lots of fun) !