THERE ARE probably many foreigners in Japan who first learned of setsubun after the startling experience of seeing Japanese friends or acquaintances throwing beans around for apparently no reason. Most Japanese can probably offer at least a superficial explanation for this
custom , but there are also doubtlessly many who have never given serious thought to the full significance of setsubun. Observance of this
holiday may actually be declining. As a traditional custom, setsubun is preserved in part by somewhat nontraditional means. TV and movie personalities, for example, publicize the event by appearing in front of well-known shrines to throw beans. Other bean throwers to which the media may turn are sumo wrestlers, otherwise known for their salt throwing. Celebrities thus serve to remind the Japanese of their cultural heritage, even if the busy public takes little or no time to reflect on it. Many holidays are rooted in the celebration of the seasons and are easily lost in the shuffle of modern urban life. For most J apanese office workers, h olidays are significan tonly if they provide a day off; their original meaning or purpose is in most cases either forgotten or irrelevant. Still, holidays are preserved and remembered not by their meaning but rather by the activities associated with them. Though few Japanese are likely to know or think about the origin of setsubun, there are many who faithful lly follow the custom of scattering beans on February 3. Originally, when the lunar calendar was in use, setsubun took place at the beginning of spring, as the name suggests. To shout "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" was therefore not on ly a kind of prayer, but also an affirmation of a n ew beginning: out with old troubles, in with new hope. The Japanese make much of New Year's cleaning, but even in February there is probably much of the same spiritamong those who follow the setsubun custom today, regardless of whether they really believe that they are driv ing away demons. Setsubun is related to tsuina , originally a C hinese custom introduced in Japan around the beginning of the eighth century. Some participants in the ritual, which took place at the end of the lunar year, wore masks representing various demons that the others were to drive away by screaming loudly and shooting arrows into the air. The tossing or scattering of beans (marne maki) appears to be a fairly recent practice, dating from the Muromachi period. A similar ritual in the West is observed at weddings in the tossing of grain at newlyweds to encourage fertility. At Christian weddings, for instance, grains of rice are thrown. The symbolism of beans, grain, and rice originates in the life and values of a predominantly agrarian society. Custom preserves the symbols but not necessarily their meaning. Concern with demons and particularly the wearing of masks can be compared with the Irish and American custom of Halloween, even though this holiday, October 3 1, marks the end of summer rather than the end of winter. Primary
school ch ildren, disguised as ghosts, witches, and monsters, go from door to door asking for treats. H alloween ("A ll H allows' Eve") is the nigh t before All Saints' Day. The original celebrat ion of Halloween goes back before the corning of C hristianity, but according to later tradition it signified the last n ight on which the powers of evil could freely roam the world before the C hristmas season. To this extent, the spirit of Halloween is rather similar to that of setsubun: oni wa so to , fuku wa uchi.
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