FESTIVVALS AND HOLIDAYS

Loud shouting followed by merry laughter is heard from every house on the-evening of February the 3rd, the day on which Setsubun, change of season falls. Observing the old custom of driving out evil and sickness is still an important evening in Japanese households. The master of the house undertakes the duty of scattering a handful of roasted beans at the entrance of each room, shouting, "Oniwa-sato, fukuwa-uchi," so that good fortune will be invited into the family and devils expelled. Then, each member of the house eats as many roasted beans as there are years in his age to insure good health and good luck.

Setsubun is the last day of winter, and the following day the Spring season begins- It is the hope of the people to start the spring with good fortune.

In addition to the bean scattering custom, there is als observed in most rural districts the ancient habit of placing over the entrance a tiny branch of hiiragi, a kind of holly, to which the head of a dried sardine is attached. This is also a talisman for good luck and health.

Many temples throughout the country hold elaborate Setsubun ceremonies. From every direction, faithful followers of the old custom gather at the temples. At most temples, the head priest dressed in gorgeous costumes performs the task of tossing roasted beans over the head of the multitude that has gathered.

Famous actors, sumo wrestlers and other prominent persons are also selected to be toshi-otoko year man, and scatter beans at the temple function. The popularity of such famous persons adds color to the ceremony and draws more crowds. It is also regarded as a great honor to be made toshi-otoko. In recent years, actresses and other well-known women have been chosen to do the honors and they are known as toshi-onna or year women.

In Japan, there is a belief in Yakudoshi, or unlucky year, when misfortunes are supposed to happen to individuals through the workings of cosmic forces. For men, the Yakudoshi is 25 and 42 years, and for women, 19 and 33 years.

Superstition has it that you can get rid of Yakudoshi's bad luck if you eat as many beans as your age on Setsubun.

• February 8
  Hari-kuyo, or memorial services for sewing needles, is an old custom observed by girls but it is fast disappearing. On this day, women take a break from sewing to express thanks to the needles, and pray for greater skill in sewing. They gather up needles broken during the past year, and offer them to the alter or comfort them by plunging them into soft bean curds. They are then wrapped in paper and taken to the sea for burial.
• February 11
  Kenkoku-Kinen-No-Hi - According to the Kojiki and the Nihongi, the two ancient chronicles of Japan, the first emperor of Japan was Kamuyamato-Iwarehiko, posthumously called Emperor Jimmu. It is said that he had a long series of military campaigns pushing eastward from Kyushu and establishing his rule finally in central Honshu, in the present day prefectures of Shiga and Mie*-- called Yamato in ancient times. The Nihongi relates that Kamuyamato-Iwarehiko was enthroned at Kashiwara Palace in Yamato on January 1, of the lunar calendar in 660 B.C.. Based on this passage, the JaDanese government established a national holiday toward the end of the 19th century. The enthronement day of Emperor Jimmu was fixed as February the llth on the solar calendar, and it became customary to celebrate the dav with great pomp until the end of World War II. It was regarded as the festival of the foundation of the Japanese Empire which was believed to have taken place more than 2,600 years ago. The present emperor is considered to be the direct descendant of Emperor Jimmu. The national holiday was called Kigensetsu, the day to celebrate the beginning of the era.