7. FMP: Research (Japanese Culture- Setsubun Festival)

The Setsubun Festival

The Japanese Setsubun Festival is a national festival celebrated at the beginning of spring every year, starting on February 3rd during the Haru Matsuri (Spring Festival).

Just like Lunar New Year, Setsubun is considered the new start to the year, being a chance to get rid of all evil spirits that ward out good luck and bring misfortune and illness.

Due to the nature of the evil spirits, which are afraid of them, roasted soybeans (fuku mame) (fortune beans) are thrown out of the door in the direction of evil spirits, and sometimes an older male member of the family is assigned the role of the evil spirit, made to put on a demon mask and play demon for the event.

The Setsubun Festival has over time become a fun, chaotic event in the majority of Japanese cities. Crowds swarm for beans (eating these are said to give immensely good luck), prizes, and freebies tossed from stages, often by celebrities. The events are recorded to go on TV, being sponsored, and heavily promoted.

As are many holidays all around the globe, this traditional ritual originally performed at home has become a very commercialized occasion, where most shops sell masks and colourfully packaged soybeans during the event period.

Although Setsubun is celebrated in many different ways by many different people throughout the country, it is still not an official public holiday. Even so, along with Golden Week and the Emperor’s Birthday, Setsubun is nationally recognized as an important festival worth celebrating. Many large crowds of people gather at Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines to pick up and throw roasted soybeans. They also visit shrines to pray for fortune and good health after throwing beans at home.

Roasted soybeans (fuku mame) is tradition, but peanuts can also be used in the ritual, and one bean is eaten for each year of life. In many regions, an extra bean can be eaten for good measure to symbolize good health in the new year.

A different and less familiar ritual in Setsubun that some families still carry on is the tradition of yaikagashi, where sardine heads and holly leaves are hung above doorways to make evil spirits discouraged if attempting to enter.

As tradition, eho-maki sushi rolls are consumed during Setsubun to bring good fortune. But instead of being cut into single-bite sushi pieces like usual, they are left whole and eaten as rolls, as cutting during the Lunar New Year is considered bad luck.

During Setsubun, due to its warming properties and apparent benefits for good health, hot ginger sake is consumed by all. Depending on whether the tradition is followed strictly or not, all who are celebrating together will eat in total silence while facing the direction that is said to bring good luck from, decided by the zodiac for the new year.

The research that I have done based on Setsubun is beneficial for the project, due to its ultimate nature of warding off spirits that are considered heavily unwanted. These spirits fall under the category of Yokai, which will serve as a main theme for this project. Therefore, we can confirm that in Japan, Yokai are seen as demons to human-kind, and they have a severe distaste for them. This information is important in determining how my Japanese character will be interacted with by humans, as I would like to make them partially, if not fully, Yokai.

Harvard Reference:

TripSavvy. (n.d.). Setsubun Is a Fun, Wacky Bean-Throwing Festival Each February in Japan. [online] Available at: https://www.tripsavvy.com/setsubun-japanese-bean-throwing-festival-1458346 [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022].

http://www.kanpai-japan.com. (n.d.). Setsubun – End of winter and beginning of spring celebrations. [online] Available at: https://www.kanpai-japan.com/japan-lifestyle/setsubun [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022].

http://www.japansociety.org.uk. (n.d.). The Japan Society – Setsubun – Marking the Arrival of Spring (February). [online] Available at: https://www.japansociety.org.uk/resource?resource=7 [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022].

Bureau, T.C. & V. (n.d.). Setsubun Festival. [online] The Official Tokyo Travel Guide, GO TOKYO. Available at: https://www.gotokyo.org/en/spot/ev173/index.html [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022].

LearnJapanese123. (2022). Setsubun: Japan’s Bean-Throwing Festival. [online] Available at: https://learnjapanese123.com/setsubun-japan-bean-throwing-festival/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022].

6. FMP: Context/Research (Hokkaido- Background Info and Creation Tale)

Progressing with my project, I decided to research a potential candidate for the area of which I will be setting my animation.

Hokkaido stood out to me greatly due to the gorgeous scenery, being a stunning place to reside and simultaneously a harsh environment in winter months, which could offer a good setting to have the battle scene occur- potentially set in a snow storm, offering the chance to work on environmental changes in my animation.

Not only is it a beautiful island, but it has a very interesting tale of creation, revolving around the birth of Japan in its entirety by the work of the gods.

Hokkaido

Hokkaido, located to the north (furthest) of the four main islands of Japan, is surrounded by the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Pacific Ocean. It is the least developed of Japan’s four main islands. The weather is very harsh, with heavy snowfall and temperatures below zero temperatures and frozen seas, while in summer it maintains its cool atmosphere in comparison to the rest of Japan.

With the untouched and preserved nature, wide variety of national parks and rural landscapes, Hokkaido is a must-see spot for many outdoor lovers, including ski enthusiasts and snowboarders in the later half of the year and hikers, cyclists and campers from June to September.

The Formation of Hokkaido: The Story Of Izanagi and Izanami

Before the world was created, the first deities came into being at Takamagahara, the High Plain of Heaven.

Beginning with three primal kami Amenominakanushi, Takamimusubi, and Kamimusubi, seven new generations of gods and goddesses were born, the seventh generation consisting of the male kami Izanagi and the female kami Izanami.

Izanagi and Izanami were given the task of shaping the unshapen world. To help them with their task, they were given a jeweled spear called Ama no Nuboko.

From the Heavenly Floating Bridge, Izanagi and Izanami stirred the deformed mass known as earth with the tip of the spear. As they lifted the spear back up, a spilled droplet fell from its tip, creating the island of Onogoro. Izanagi and Izanami decided that this island would be where they would live from now on, and built a palace for them to live in.

Soon after settling in, Izanami and Izanagi decided to start a family. They circled the pillar in the middle of their palace, and Izanagi turned to the left and Izanami moved to the right, so they met each other. Izanami greeted her husband first, and Izanagi followed. However, Izanagi complained, stating that he should have taken the lead.

After the process, Izanami gave birth to a son, Hiruko, but the child was born without bones or limbs. He was placed on a boat of reeds and abandoned on the water. The couple tried a second time, but their child was again born dysfunctional.

Izanami and Izanagi returned to Heaven to enquire to the gods about their babies’ malformations. The response to their enquiries was that Izanagi was correct- the male should always take the lead in greeting, which explained why their babies had been born flawed. After gaining this information, the couple returned to their palace to try again- Izanagi taking the lead this time.

Izanami, after several failed attempts, finally gave birth to the islands of Awaji, Shikoku, Oki Kyushu, and Tsushima. Her final birth was of the largest island, Honshu. The couple gave the land they had birthed the name Oyashimakumi, meaning the Land of Eight Great Islands. Following this, Izanami brought forth the smaller islands, one of these being Hokkaido.

After bringing the lands into being, Izanami began to give birth to the kami that would shape it by bringing forth the kami of the sea, the wind, trees and mountains. Whilst giving birth to the kami of fire, Kagutsuchi, Izanami burned to death, despite Izanagi’s efforts to save her. As she died, other types of kami were born from her body, being death and sorrow.

This story gives me great potential for my animation, where I can materialise the kami in the fight between both of my characters- an example being character 1 materialising death as a kami to attack character 2. By doing this, I will be able to embody a very significant tale in Japanese culture into my work.

Harvard References:

http://www.japan-guide.com. (n.d.). Hokkaido Travel Guide. [online] Available at: https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1101.html [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022].

SarahLMaguire (2011). The Story of Izanagi and Izanami: A Japanese Creation Myth. [online] Owlcation. Available at: https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/IzanagiandIzunami [Accessed 6 Feb. 2022].