"鬼は外、福は内; oni ha soto, fuku ha uchi" in Japanese.
節分"Setubun" Bean-Throwing Festival or Bean-Throwing
Ceremony is the day before the beginning of spring. The two characters literally mean "seasonal division". We also have another term called "Risshun (立春)" celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the Spring Festival (春祭 haru matsuri). In its association with the Lunar New Year, Spring Setsubun can be and was previously thought of as a sort of New Year's Eve, and so was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called mamemaki (豆撒き, literally "bean throwing").
*恵方巻き Good Fortune Sushi Rolls*
Eho-maki (fortune rolls) are futo-maki (thick sushi rolls) eaten on the night of Setsubun. To be related with the Seven Deities of Good Fortune called Shichifukujin, seven fillings are traditionally rolled in a sushi roll. For example, simmered shiitake mushrooms and kanpyo (dried gourd), cucumber, rolled omelet (tamagoyaki), eels, sakura denbu (sweet fish powder), and seasoned koyadofu (freeze-dried tofu) are used. These ingredients represent good health, happiness, and prosperity, and rolling the fillings means good fortune.
＊"Sardine" another food on this day; Gift from my husband’s friend＊
We will eat this gift on 3rd, not today when I took the picture below.
Old days in Japan, people put up small decorations of sardine heads and holly leaves (鰯iwashi. 柊hiragi ) on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter. I remember my mother cooked Iwashi on this day. Well, I don't think I have seen this decoration in my area from childhood days p;-)
* Birds with Berries of the littleTree in front of my house *
*Dusky thrush; Pale
Thrush; Japanese White-eye; Redstart*
I enjoyed seeing their happy meal time♡♡♡
Berries are almost all gone by now♪
Thank you so much for stopping by and sweet comments , catch up with you soon;
I hope you all had a wonderful start of Feb.♫
Linking this post to these pages and Thanks to all the link hosts;
I found this interesting and it had really nice birds to boot, makes one glad she came to visit
ReplyDeleteI forgot it was time for Setsubun already! I remember doing bean throwing at home, and having tea with beans in it :-) Not sure if I’ve seen the decoration with sardine heads and holly leaves, either.. It kinda looks weird and I’m curious what people in other countries think about it :-)
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of the birds. They look so happy with all the berries they can eat! Have a happy weekend, Miyako san xo
Your photos and information are always so pretty and informative.
ReplyDeleteWe are celebrating the new year too! Lovely photos of the Robins. have a great week.
ReplyDeleteDearest Miyako,
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely tradition and I certainly do wish you a happy February!
The birds in your garden look like being in paradise, so many berries to feast on.
Hugs,
Mariette
That's a great custom to throw beans at the demons:):) And I can have sushi anytime (am particularly fond of what they call here the California rolls). But your birds are beautiful too, especially your last capture! Appreciate you post your celebratory experiences in a lovely lovely way, Miyako! And you're first for All Seasons this week - yay!
ReplyDeleteMiyako - I was very interested in the traditions associated with Spring Setsubun - thank you for telling us all about it, and providing photos that illustrate it so well! I amazed that so many ingredients can be rolled into a sushi roll - that must take some talent. I can see why the birds like the tree in front of your house - tasty berries! I am grateful for your link to Mosaic Monday, as always!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so cool. I love the contrast of the birds with the red berries. A wonderful Spring to you!
ReplyDeleteDear Miyako,
ReplyDeletethank you for telling about Japanese traditions. I'm always happy to visit your blog, see all the nice pictures and read interesting reports.
I wish you a nice week.
Loretta
The birds look so happy (and so beautiful) with your red berries. I enjoyed reading about the traditions around the Setsuban holiday. ..The thick Sushi rolls look so good!
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your photos and the words you put with them. Thanks for linking up to My Corner of the World!
ReplyDeleteIt is always interesting to read about your traditions Miyako. It seems that we have so little.... Your bird photos were a joy to see - happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful collection of bird photographs. Good fence shot. Have a wonderful week ahead
ReplyDeleteHello Miyako, thank you for sharing your lovely traditions. The Spring Festival and ritual of bean throwing is interesting. I like the decorations to ward off bad spirits. The birds and berries are all beautiful. Lovely series of photos. Thank you so much for linking up your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend. PS, thanks for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us at I'd Rather B Birdin this week.
ReplyDelete