Saturday, February 16, 2013

Chasing Away Evil Spirits


Mimi suddenly shrieks: “Namake-mono wa ine ga? Naguko wa ine ga? (怠けものはいねが?泣ぐ子はいねが?– Are there any lazy people around? Any crying kids?)” She’s wearing the mask of an Oni (demon).

Kowai!” says a startled Ariaguma (怖い – Eek!), as Mimi bursts into laughter.

Mimi explains that she heard from a friend about an annual spring event in Slovenia related to our last blog posting about bean-tossing (mame-maki). In a more rational voice, she explains, “Have you ever heard of Kurentovanje? It's a very interesting carnival, I once saw on a TV documentary.

Participants dressed in sheep furs and masks hang bells around their belts, which ring loudly as they walk about. The ringing of these bells is said to drive away evil spirits and to announce the coming of spring.

Mimi thinks the creatures look like rather friendly big birds, however.

The Tschaggatta festival in Lotchental Swizerland is also similar. Villagers from remote valleys wear hideous wooden spirit masks, dress in shaggy furs, and carry heavy bells. These
Tschaggatta are said to possess special powers.

One hundred years ago, hordes of Tschagatta stormed through the villages, punishing community ne’er-do-wells. It was said they had magical powers to scare away winter and death, allowing spring to be reborn.

Tschaggata masks are scarier than those of Kurentovanje, although both are meant to scare children out of misbehavior. It's fascinating how the essence of these events seems so similar among such widely divergent cultures.

Mimi says hearing about these customs reminds her of the Akita winter festival  called Namahage. That’s why she was trying to scare Araiguma.  

Namahage is an annual event held the last day of the year. Namahage are creatures (seen above), said to be messengers of the gods. They visit local houses to admonish the wicked, to drive away evil spirits, and to bring happiness and good fortunes.

Villagers don wooden masks and straw-filled keramino clothes while brandishing giant knives. They wander about, shouting “Namake-mono wa inega? Naguko wa inega?” (Are there any lazy people around? Any crying kids?) in gruff voices. Their manner is quite aggressive, and particularly terrifying to children, as they look like Oni.

There are basically two types of namahage masks, one blue and one red, each with similar expressions. In this respect, they differ from Tschagatta masks, which come in a great variety.
The red namahage carries a tool in his right hand called a Nuki, a religious tool priests swing in the air above their heads to drive away evil spirits. 

The literal translation of namahage is to remove a low-temperature burn. Such burn injuries come from idling too long by the fireside, which is thus a metaphor for laziness. Eventually this meaning was transferred to the name of the mythic creatures.  

The blue-masked namahage carries a knife to slice off these superficial burns, and catch them in his wooden bucket.

Today, one can meet them annually at the Namahage festival, held Friday through Sunday, the second week of February in Akita’s Oga Peninsula.

For three nights 50 torch-wielding namahages descend from the mountains, thereafter engaging in traditional folk dancing and music.

Since Akita is located in northern Japan, it sees a lot of snow, and is quite cold, but the festival is well worth a visit, as one feels as if she’s traveled back in time.

Adds Mimi, “Akita is very low on crime, so the Namahage appear to be effective!”

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Trolling


Mimi says: "Spring has come to Japan. I need to start exercising to slim down so I can fit into my summer clothes!" 

Araiguma replies. "What you are talking about? It’s far too early! It's too cold and the weather forecast says it might even snow again this week!"

They wish to thank you for your interest in their books and this blog, and are excited for readers to enjoy them.  While they’re just on the starting line, the number of fans is small, but growing daily. 

When Mimi says “Spring has come to Japan”, she isn't nuts; spring has actually arrived on the calendar. Japanese express this as Koyomi no ue de haru ga kita (暦の上で春が来た – Spring has arrived on the calendar).  Koyomi () is Japanese for the Gregorian calender, accepted into use in 1873. Prior to this, Japanese had followed a lunar-solar calendar since the dawn of the history.

Japanese love nature, with every season bringing a rich life of new beauty, so they have divided the Koyomi year to 24 groups, 6 groups per season. February 4th is the first day of the first group of the first quarter, called Rishun (立春 – spring’s appearance). With the arrival of spring comes strong sunlight, lengthening daylight hours, and Japanese plum blossoms begin to bloom. Ancient Japanese noted these slight seasonal changes and named the day in hopes of the coming of spring.

On Rishun eve, Japanese celebrate with a traditional custom called mame maki (豆まき – bean-tossing). They throw roasted soy beans out the entrance or windows, shouting Oni wa soto! (鬼は外 Out with the trolls!), and then throw beans backward into the house, shouting Fuku wa uchi! (福は内 – In with Good Fortune!)

Oni were creatures from Japanese folklore, with horned faces resembling the mask seen in the picture above. They were huge, and carried great clubs called Kanabo (金棒 – golden clubs). These creatures symbolized evil, scary forces, and were said to appear with the changing of seasons.

By throwing beans at the invisible oni, Japanese ward off bad luck, and by throwing beans back into the house, they welcome happiness and wealth into their lives.

Many shrines or temples hold local festivals, and the most famous invite celebrities and sumo wrestlers to participate. There are also subtle differences in what is shouted. In local areas where people love the oni, they say Oni mo uchi ( 鬼も内 – Oni are also welcome inside!) or simply fuku wa uchi. In such areas, the oni are a symbol of respected strength.  

Afterward, celebrants eat roasted soy beans – one for every year of their age, with one added for an upcoming year of health and happiness.

Araiguma says, “so when Mimi turns 100, she has to eat 101 soybeans? Yikes!!”

Mimi says, “I don't want to think about eating more than 50 at a time! They’re delicious and healthy, but they dry out your mouth. Add a little water, and the stomach gets pretty full. 50 is already enough for me.

What are spring traditions like where you live?

Monday, February 4, 2013

Sampo Nikki is online!

We're thrilled to bring you the first three volumes of our "Walking Tour" series of guidebooks on Japan.

These one-day, 100-page mini-excursion guides to Japan are a written and photographic collaboration between a western journalist and a Japanese cultural scholar. Get the "inside story" on the best-kept secrets Japan has to offer; learn its history, culture, food and even a little Japanese kanji. These fun mini-guidebooks will ensure you fully enjoy all that Japan has to offer.

Book I: Seven Gods of Fortune

Book II: NeoTokyo

Book III: The Shogun’s Temple
and the City From The Future

Color PDFs are now available online, US$4.95 each, or all three for $9.95. Kindle, Nook, other formats available upon request. Color paperback versions are available for pre-order, to be available February 15th

 Buy Now 
Three-Volume PDF Set US$9.95


Buy Now
Sampo Nikki Volume I US$4.95

Buy Now
Sampo Nikki Volume II US$4.95 

Buy Now
Sampo Nikki Volume III US$4.95