Setsubun

(The yummy dried fish snack served with lunch today)

Yesterday it snowed all day. It was so nice. The snow just kept piling up. I wandered around Tokyo a bit and my town taking pictures. I went across the street to a shrine that I can see from my window but have never visited. It is a very small shrine on a hill. Yesterday also happened to be Setsubun.
Setsubun is a Japanese holiday celebrated on February 3rd (yesterday. Families usher good luck in and cast away bad luck. Often someone in the family will dress up as an oni or devil, probably dad gets this job and he tries to sneak into the house. But mom and the kids catch him and they throw beans at him and yell at him and tell him to go away. Then they ask good luck to come in. Also people eat as many dried beans as they are old. I don't know why they do this. Anyway, so yesterday was Setsubun. When I went up to the shrine to take some pictures of the snow, the shrine was busy with preparations for Setsubun. A bunch of old men were stuffing bags full of mochi and mikan and beans. The Shinto presets and other old men were not very welcoming, but one man was very kind to me and he invited me in. I guess they thought I was a tourist, so when I told then I lived across the street and was a teacher they were suddenly very kind and we chatted for a bit. I was very proud because I spoke completely in Japanese!! I did pretty well too. After our visit as I was heading out, they gave me a bag of Setsubun beans, mochi and mikan. So when I got home I decided to do Setsubun properly. I cast the beans outside and (in English) told all the oni to go away and then I asked the good luck to come in. It was pretty hilarious considering I was all alone. Am I sad? Then I ate the mikan, don't think your supposed to. I think you have to put the mochi and mikan in your ancestral alter, but I don't have one so I ate them. I tried to eat 26 dried beans, but they were gross so I ate 15. maybe I will finish the rest tonight, hope it does not make a difference. And anyway it's too late for me to drop dead at 15. HA!
After celebrating Setsubun I went to Tsutaya (video store) and rented Lost, I have only seen season 1, I gotta catch up!
That was my Sunday.