Roving Ronin Report

Setsubun is an old Japanese tradition going back to the Heian Period (794-1192) where Japanese drive bad luck or evil out of their homes by throwing beans.

The evil is represented by devils called Oni and often fathers will don an oni costume so their kids can pelt them with beans - ouch! In America, dads dress up like Santa Claus and get milk&cookies for their troubles!

At temples and shrines, they do a mame-maki where they throw beans and other things to gathering crowds. People go crazy trying to catch these beans.

Setsubun is one of my favorite Japanese traditional events and for the last 4-5 years I have always gone somewhere to celebrate it. This year I started Setsubun a few days earlier by going to the small neighborhood of Shimokitazawa where they had the Tengu Matsuri. Tengu is a long nose goblin who protects the area.

On Setsubun I went to 4 places in and around Tokyo - Narita, Kanda Myojin Shrine, Hosen-ji Temple in Nakano, and Ashikaga in Tochigi. I saw sumo champions, Japanese celebrities, samurai, J-Pop stars, and fighting Buddhist monks.

I recorded the vlog part of the video around 3 in the morning because I had to catch a really early flight from Haneda to Hokkaido so I’m speaking low so as not to wake my neighbors. Plus I was tired!

For photos check here:

Setsubun 2009

Although Christmas is not an official holiday in Japan, it is observed in other ways.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas, one can find lines of Japanese standing outside of KFC for a little bit of the Colonel’s Christmas Chicken.

Christmas Cake is a popular item which sells for about 30-50 bucks at convenience stores. It’s also a term used to refer to women over 26.

For young couples, Christmas is a big date night and many of them go to love hotels.

Times must be tough at the North Pole as Santa Claus is forced to lay off his reindeer and resort to Public Transportation. While I was changing trains at a station in Tokyo, I came across Santa doing a milk run in Tokyo trying out the train system.

While Santa’s away, the reindeer will play. See a group of reindeer dance, sing, swear, drink beer, play pool, throw darts, and experiment with their sexuality while on leave in Tokyo.

Dasher gives a drunken rant about being stuck behind Rudolph of Red Nose fame for the last 70 years.

Here are some Holiday-related photos from Tokyo Decandance - a semi-monthly club event which is a melting pot of various subcultures in Japan. This is a photo montage of Tokyo Decadance’s Christmas event. Plenty of interesting folks and some cuties in XMAS outfits.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Chance Encounter with Zen Priest Komuso were Zen Buddhist Priests who used to travel about playing the Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute) for meditation and ... [Continue reading this entry]

New Years at a Japanese Temple Prayers, Fires, and Rice Cakes ring in the New Year at Zojo-ji in Tokyo Here are some scenes of New Year's Eve Activities at Zojo-ji Temple in central Tokyo.