Setsubun
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2006
1
5
18
Trip End
Dec 23, 2006
Nara,
Japan
Friday, February 3, 2006
The most important Setsubun festivity is throwing beans and chanting "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" which roughly translates to "out with Oni, in with happiness." It is common in households with children for someone to put on an Oni mask while the kids gleefully chase them around and pelt them with beans
Kofukuji
. After chanting and throwing beans, it is custom to eat a number of beans equal to your age plus one (up to 30) for good luck. Sometimes people decorate a tree in front of their house with stinky things like garlic and sardines as an added measure of protection against Oni. Another tradition that originated in my area but has now spread involves eating an entire role of uncut sushi without saying a word to bring more luck.For Setsubun, I headed with a small group of friends to Nara. Nara was Japan's first Imperial Capital, founded in 710 and modeled after Changan, Capital of Tang Dynasty China. It remained the capital only until 784, when the pressure of powerful Buddhist monasteries in the city forced the Government to move to nearby Nagaoka. But, only 10 years later the capital was again relocated at Kyoto, since Nagaoka turned out to be haunted. But like its larger successor Kyoto, Nara remains a stronghold of ancient culture. We left at sunset with the plan of partaking in some evening Setsubun activities.
Osaka and Kyoto are linked by the Keihan train line, and our city of Hirakata lays right in-between as one of the stops. To reach Nara however, a transfer at Kyobashi station to one of then JR lines is required. This added a significant dose adventure to our outing. Kyobashi station is huge, the signs and maps don't have English, and it was the middle of evening rush hour. After finally buying the right tickets and finding our train, we ended up in a line for a girls-only car. These cars have been implemented recently as a result of groping problems that occur when all of the skirt clad schoolgirls are packed in next to older men. Mark and I were the only males in the group. We made a quick dash for the next car, but the doors closed on us
Nara Deer
.Luckily, our friends spotted us standing on the platform as they pulled out, and waited for us at another station where we needed to transfer yet again. Of course, they had all of the information on stations, so Mark and I had to go on memory. On the next train, I asked a high school girl about stations, and after getting over the shock of hearing Japanese come out of a Gaijin, she helped us out. We got off at the right stop and rejoined the group. Next we boarded an express train, where I sat next to a "Salary man" drinking himself happy, which is quite legal on the trains here.
After a slightly stressful hour of train travel, we arrived safely at Nara. Spurred by the deep thunder of Taiko drums, we hurried into Nara Park where a festival was just getting underway at Kofukuji temple. Kofukuji was the personal temple of the Fujiwara, the most powerful clan and virtual rulers of Japan form the 9th to 11th century. Although it was once a massive complex, only a few building remain today. One of them is a grand, five tiered pagoda, which is now the symbol of Nara. It was under this pagoda, which was lit impressively by spotlights, that a fascinating show took place.
To the rumble of the drums, men dressed as Oni danced across an open stage brandishing axes and burning torches. They yelled and gestured threateningly at crowd, who snapped pictures with their cell phones and murmured with excitement. After many minutes of this, and many fresh torches brought out by helpers, a warrior appeared wearing and fought the Oni in slow choreographed movements until they were all vanquished. After the victory a monk came out with a sack from which he produced bags of beans that he hurled into the audience. We were too far back to get any, and did not stick around long.
Next we trekked deeper into the dark of Nara Park. Looking off into the trees beside the path, I was startled to notice dozens of pale shapes. We stopped and squinted into the brush. We had come upon a heard of resting deer. Nara Park is famous for its small, free roaming deer. These deer have no fear of humans since they are accustomed to being fed by visitors to the park. After leaving the deer, which we were to see more of throughout the night, we soon could make out the glow of lanterns up ahead. This is what we were seeking.
Kasuga Taisha is a Shinto shrine nestled on the forested top of a hill in Nara Park. It was established at the same time as Nara and the Kami (deity) that is thought to live there is responsible for protecting the city. Over the past 1,300 years, worshipers have donated stone lanterns to the shrine, and it now has over 3,000 of them lining the path up to and surrounding the area. Clearly, lighting all of these lanterns is no small feat, and it is done only twice a year, one of those nights being Setsubun.
Climbing to Kasuga Taisha was a strange and powerful experience. The only sound was the crunch of hundreds of footsteps on the wide gravel path. The only light came from the candles burning in the lanterns to both sides of us, and the glow of the moon shining down through the canopy of pine needles above. Eventually we reached the lower buildings of the shrine which were surrounded by countless lanterns burning eerily in the woods. Here the crowd was loud and venders were selling charms and fortunes. We lingered around the magnificent building for a short time; then descended. It had been more about the journey than the destination.
Hoping to get home before the trains stopped running; we had a quick meal at the station, than began our return adventure. Getting back was not all that much less eventful; there were several instances of last minute train switches, running, drink spilling, and of course the classic Japanese experience of being packed into the cars like sardines. We had returned to the present, but I caught a glimpse of antiquity that stayed with me. Even as we rushed through neon cityscapes at over 100kph, I could sense the past lurking just below the surface in this country heralded as the one of the most modern in the world.
