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Travel Journals
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February 3, 2008 Hino (JAPAN) Plenty of Snow, and a Mamemaki Celebration for the Japanese Spring Setsubun
That it was cold and snowy outside posed
a new dimension to my plans for the day. Originally,
Kumagai-san and I intended to visit her mother's
house in Hino so I
Below are several pictures taken from Gotenyama neighborhood as we walked toward Shinagawa Station.
The soybeans themselves are meant to drive away the demons and bad fortune, and although I did a fair job catching them with my one free hand, Kumagai-san was far more clever by opening an umbrella and letting them fall right in! After five minutes of madness we stopped to re-gather ourselves, and then I ate one soybean for each year of my life (signifying good luck.) Below is video of the Mamemaki celebration.
From the shrine, it was a 15 minute uphill walk to the wealthy residential neighborhood where Kumagai san's mother now lives. We bypassed a large wooded park - one I will be sure to visit when the weather is better - and a large cemetery that looked strangely picturesque with all the snow.
After the war, her father, who was once a wealthy merchant with plenty of land, lost much of what he owned in the restructuring imposed by the Allied Forces. It was a very interesting conversation because she belongs to an older, more aristocratic style of Japanese life, and her comments contained many subtleties that Kumagai-san pointed out for me. By 4:30 pm we said our goodbyes and set off for home, arriving at around 6:00 pm for a small dinner and an early night's sleep after the long day. |
It
has been an irregularly cold winter in Tokyo, with the
upside being that there have been several snowfalls, and
none more so than the six or so inches that fell today.
At 7am this morning I could see clearly the thick flurry
outside my window, but rather than continuing to savor the
blissful warmth under the covers like the oaf that I am, I
rolled out of bed for a better look. Sure enough, snow
coated the entire neighborhood, and there were no signs
it would let up any time soon.
could experience a famous
Japanese celebration, Setsubun, marking the
coming of Spring. (Although with the heavy snow outside, I am not convinced Spring is ready to abandon the
blissful warmth of its own covers just yet). Rather than
let the occasion slip by, we decided it was worth
enduring the cold, damp misery outside as this is a
once-in-a-year event. So at 9 am, after a breakfast of prosciutto
sandwiches on freshly baked bread, sliced kiwi, oranges,
and coffee, I layered on clothes (including an extra
pair of football socks) and off we went. The feeling of
warmth lasted the whole of two minutes before a taxi
drove by and splashed wet mush on the legs of my pants.
There was no going back at this point!
Before
hopping on the Yamanote line, we went to the
large shopping area underneath Shinagawa Station
to buy some last minute necessities to celebrate the
festivities. Of particular interest were the long sushi
rolls that typically are cut into small bite-size
pieces, but for the Spring Setsubun the six inch
rolls are meant to be eaten whole. This is more of a
marketing gimmick than anything else - the intention
being that every person must have their own rolled sushi
- but Kumagai-san used it as an excuse to sample
different varieties for sale. Who am I to complain about
sampling tasty new varieties of sushi!
On
the way to Hino city, which is one of the many
cities that are still "within" Tokyo, we transferred
trains at the world's largest train station, Shinjuku
Station, and an hour later we disembarked. Kumagai-san's
mother lives in Hino, and this is where Kumagai-san
grew up in her early teenage years, so she hit the
ground like a local. We stopped at an amazing bakery
called Fujiu, which is often featured in
magazines and on television programs for its desserts
and pastries. After picking up fresh croissants and an
eclectic selection of premium desserts, we set off to
experience the Mamemaki celebration at a famous
temple in the center of the city - being careful not to
shake the box holding the delicate confectionary.
The
timing of our arrival coincided perfectly with the
hourly Mamemaki (literally "bean scattering")
celebration, and within minutes of finding a place in
the crowd the fun began! Alongside us were a hundred
other people gathered around, braving the falling snow,
laughing with delight while the organizers and
celebrities (ie Hello Kitty) threw baskets of
pan-heated soybeans down from the second story of a
shrine.
While
throwing, it is customary for the throwers to chant things like,
"
This
particular Shinto complex is quite large, and later we
spent the better half of an hour battling the cold while
Kumagai-san showed me around. We passed a large fire pit
where we rubbed smoke on ourselves for more good luck, a
collection of stone statues that were adorned with red
garments (knitted by locals and placed on the figures
for good luck), and also the large pagoda towering above
us.
Another
interesting bit of Japanese culture is related to the
painted heads shown to the left. Looking closely, one
will notice the eyes have yet to be painted on. It is
customary for a person to paint one eye when they have
something they would like to achieve, and after accomplishing the goal the other eye can be painted
on. I thought about buying one with the aim of "leaning
Japanese," but I can't carry a one-eyed head around with
me forever!
After
ringing the bell at the front gate, where two kind
neighbors were clearing walkway for Kumagai-san and me,
her mother came out greet us an show us inside. The
house itself was beautiful, and in my mind, contained a
perfect blend of traditional Japanese and Western
elements. Although my Japanese is very poor, Kumagai-san
did all the translating and through smiles the
conversation went along smoothly. We enjoyed a large
lunch (the first time Kumagai-san has not cooked),
consisting of various sushi dishes, white rice, miso
soup, green tea, shashimo (two inch long fish eaten
whole), chilled vegetables, and pickled vegetables.
After
lunch, we all relaxed in the living room to look through
photo albums and eat confectionary. She has lived
everywhere from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) to Indonesia
(Jakarta), so I asked questions about what life was like
during those days, as well as Japan during World War II.
She was more than happy to share all her stories, and
responded that although she was still a high school
student at the time, she had to work in a factory most
days of the week to make parts for the war. Although her
house was never destroyed - she was very proud of its
grand beauty and insisted I visit - much of the
surrounding region was.