PROJECT Bean-Throwing for Setsubun


FUKU wa UCHI ONI wa SOTO
Bring in Good Fortune! Throw out the ogres!

DOWNLOAD a recipe for Fuku Mamé roasted soybeans
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Setsubun, a marker on the ancient, lunar-based koyomi calendar indicates the start of a new season; setsubun breaks occur many times during the year. Today in Japan the setsubun that is most celebrated occurs in early February (this year, 2025, it falls on February 2).
Setsubun corresponds to the start of the lunar New Year and in other parts of Asia, China for example, this break is celebrated as New Years. But in Japan, since it switched to using the Gregorian calendar in the Meiji period, Setsubun is quite apart from Oshōgatsu (New Year activities), which comes to a close in mid-January.
Setsubun rituals developed to insure that evil was left behind in the old year, and good things could (and would) happen in the year to come. Oni monsters personify bad things and are traditionally expelled by shouting and throwing dry-roasted soybeans. Throughout Japan, school children make monster masks to don while they yell:
ONI WA SOTO 鬼は外 (throw the ogres out!)
This is shouted standing at the entrance to your home, school and/or place of business while throwing several beans OUT, over your shoulder.
FUKU WA UCHI 福は内 (bring in good fortune!)
This said after you turn around and throw a few beans over your shoulder IN to your place of business, school, or home.
Finally, eat the same number of beans as your age. (I love dry-roasted soybeans and each year I am glad to eat more of them!)
Visit my Kitchen Culture blog to learn about An Edible Ode to Winter: Sleet & Snow.
Read my January, 2025 newsletter.
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PROJECT: Ika Yaki
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Summer Festival Food: YATAI
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PROJECT Crunchy, Spicy Cucumbers
The catergory of foods known as tsukémono runs the gamut from sokuseki ("impatient") and asazuké (lightly pickled) to furuzuké (literally "old" or overly pickled) foods that are intensely-flavored and/or deeply fermented. There are dozens of kinds of cucumber...
PROJECT: Ika Yaki
Gingery griddle-seared squid, IKA YAKI イカ焼き is a favorite summer festival food sold thoughout Japan at yatai food stalls. Visit the Summer Festival Food: YATAI post for more information about summer festivals and the food sold at yatai stalls. This Kitchen PROJECT is...
Summer Festival Food: YATAI
Throughout Japan summertime is a time for natsu matsuri: summer festivals. And that means hanabi 花火 (fireworks), mikoshi 神輿 (portable Shinto shrines paraded through the streets during festivals), and bon odori 盆おどりdancing in addition to yatai 屋台 food stalls. Lilting...
Hand-Stretched Noodles
Hand-Stretched Noodles 手延べ素麺 TÉNOBÉ SŌMEN As the heat and humidity of summer settles in, appetites begin to wane. That’s when chilled sōmen noodles provide solace. Indeed, sōmen have been refreshing heat-weary Japanese since at least the 8th century. Sōmen noodles...