What is Setsubun?
Setsubun means the turn of the season, and according to an old tradition, evil spirits (demons) visit at the turn of the season.
Setsubun is often associated with 3 February, but in 2021 Setsubun will be on 2 February.
This is one day earlier than in previous years. This is the first time such a phenomenon has occurred in 124 years, since 1897.
The only thing I would like to introduce for this special year's Setsubun is Eho only.
We all know about ehomaki, but what is ehomaki only? Many people think it is a good idea.
In fact, there has been a deep relationship between sake and Setsubun since ancient times, and it has become clear that sake played a role as a tool to drive away evil spirits and to connect people with the gods.
In this issue, I would like to talk about the surprising relationship between sake and Setsubun.
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What is a blessing in the first place?
Have you ever had this as a simple question?
It is said that the direction of blessings is the direction in which the god of good fortune is located, and that if you wish towards that direction, you will receive good fortune.
The direction of blessings is determined by the combination of the four directions (east, west, south, north and west) and the ten signs of the zodiac, and is said to cycle through 16 directions in a five-year cycle.
The ten signs of the Chinese zodiac: Kou, B, C, D, Boshi, Ko, Keng, Xin, Im, and Gye.
Originated in ancient China and introduced to Japan. It was mainly used to indicate the calendar.
Surprising! What is a blessing drink?
In Japan, it is customary to drink alcohol at milestone seasonal events.
For example, 'tokoso' at New Year's and 'shirozake' at Hinamatsuri (Girls' Festival) - these are drunk with the aim of driving away evil spirits.
And Setsubun also has the culture of ehoto-drinking.
It mainly refers to drinking sake, but arranging sake to drink can help you enjoy the ehoto-drinking more and bring good fortune.
Seven articles on the etiquette of drinking blessings!
Basically, it's the same as when you eat ehomaki...!
Here, we dare to arrange sake with Ponshu Guria and hope to expand the enjoyment of eh drinking.
- We'll get you a bottle of your favourite sake!
- And get ready for some ponchuglia!
- Pour the sake!
- Wait until the light brown sugar has dissolved!
- Once completed, face the direction of blessing (south-southeast) and take a deep breath. Organise your wishes.
- Drink in silence while chanting your wishes in your mind.
- *Please do not drink it in one gulp. Ponchuglia is too easy to swallow.
Just pour in some sake and you've got yourself a cocktail!
Eboshi drinking is a communication tool that connects Japanese people to the gods!
Japan has a wide variety of events throughout the four seasons.
Starting with cherry blossom viewing in spring, fireworks and festivals in summer, harvest festivals in autumn, New Year's in winter, etc.!
The Setsubun Festival introduced in this report is one such event. You hold a banquet each time. LOL.
The banquet was actually a way of communicating with God.
The act of drinking alcohol introduces alcohol into the body, and after a while the body is in a different state of mind from normal.
In ancient times, when storage methods were limited, sake was regarded as sacred, as something close to the gods, and as something that could bring people closer to the gods by drinking it.
For this reason, sake is considered the finest of all offerings to the gods, and it is said that drinking the same sake (sake) offered to the gods will bring you closer to them and make it easier for your wishes to come true.
The Japanese spirit of accepting nature in the form of gods, cohabiting with it and living with it with occasional patience has taken root since ancient times, but I believe that the cultural dilution has become more pronounced with the recent Corona disaster situation as a backdrop.
Once again, through the event of Setsubun, I would like to take actions I can take while wishing for happiness.
[Ref.
Drunkenness : alcohol and God.
まとめ
This year's direction of blessing is south-southeast. I would like to wish you a happy year while enjoying sake in various ways.
We've got lots of other blogs on how to arrange Sake, so please visit the following URLs!
https://ponshu-gria.com/arrange/
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