Beans flew and ‘demons’ fled as students took part in a Japanese spring ritual on Jan. 31 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Kawasaki Reading Room.
The ritual — known as Mamemaki — takes place during Setsubun, an annual Japanese festival that celebrates the close of winter and dawn of spring. The purpose of the ritual is to symbolically drive away evil spirts and bad luck.
“Through this ritual, you are literally driving out the oni, demons from Japanese folklore, and bringing in good fortunes for the rest of the year,” said Cheryl Muregerera, a Kawasaki Reading Room worker and graduate student in educational administration. “And we do this by throwing roasted soybeans at the oni, while shouting ‘Fuku wa uchi,’ which means demons out and fortunes in.”
Jerry Zhu, a junior secondary education major from Omaha, and Hokuto Okabe, a visiting student from Japan's Kobe University, donned plastic masks to play the role of the demons.
“I was not expecting to be pelted by beans today — it was an experience, that is for sure,” Zhu said. “It is a very interesting tradition, similar to Chinese ones I’ve experienced. Such as how we do a very deep cleaning of our house to drive out bad luck and welcome the new year.
“It is interesting to me to see how different cultures welcome the new year.”
Jessica Adkins, a sophomore environmental studies major, was among the throng of students tossing beans at Zhu and Okabe. She also brought two friends along to experience the event.
“I didn’t really know much about the holiday, which is part of the reason why I came and brought friends,” Adkins said. “I like that the university can offer this sort of event. It helps me learn more about another culture — in this case Japan, which I’m very interested in.”
Adkins and friends, Aiden Larsen and Thomas Hakonson, also agreed it was a great opportunity invite in some good luck at the start of the university’s spring semester.
Participants completed the ritual by eating a snack mix, consuming one piece for each year of their life, plus one for the upcoming year.
The Kawasaki Reading Room is also offering a “Taste of Japan” event that celebrates Setsubun through making ehomaki (a sushi roll) and sunomono (cucumber salad). The event is 5:30 to 7 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Rec and Wellness Center’s Wellness Kitchen. Registration for the event is open through Feb. 3.
Eating ehomaki is believed to bring good fortune and prosperity for the year to come. The roll is filled with seven ingredients, each representing a lucky god in Japanese folklore. Tradition holds that the ehomaki should be eaten uncut and in silence, with eyes closed while facing the year’s lucky compass direction.
Learn more about the Kawasaki Reading Room, which is part of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures in the university’s College of Arts and Sciences.
