Chinese New Year

Do Japanese celebrate Chinese New Year?

Do Japanese celebrate Chinese New Year? Of Course Japanese don’t celebrate Chinese New Year as an official event but every year on the 3rd of February we have what is called “Setsubun”. In kanji, it is written, “seasons change”.

Japan has four seasons, because it is made of four islands located in the mid latitude of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by mainly two large seas. Bordered in the west is the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean on the east side. The location of Japan and the ocean current brings the four seasonal changes.

Chase Oni (negative spirit) out of the house!

On the Setsubun day, traditionally we throw nuts out of the house saying “Oni, get out of the house!” and throw some in the house saying, “Bring happiness into our house!”.

Oni are figures in Japanese myth that are forms of demons. Originally it was from an event that was held in the Chinese Imperial Court on the 31st of December to chase away the evil spirit. It was said when the season changes, it creates negative vibes and disaster or unhappy things occur. To prevent this from happening, on the last day of the year they would hold an event to chase the evil away and wish for the new year for only happiness and health. It is said that this came to Japan around the Nara period.

Though back then, it wasn’t like now, throwing nuts out of the house. This was for the fortune teller’s role to chase away the Oni that human beings cannot see using an arrow. There are many theories why this event changed to what is now. In a Chinese medical book it said that nuts will kill Oni? Or nuts meant to kill the evil? This has not been resolved but there are still some shrines that hold the event. Especially in Kyoto, I was surprised to see many signs of the “Setsubun festival”.

Season Change from Winter to Spring

After we chase the negative vibes away, New Year comes as well as the spring. Japanese still tend to have the culture to use the old calendar for many traditional activities.

This year, my Japanese tea New Year ceremony was perfectly scheduled on the 3rd of February. Usually these tea ceremonies consist of four parts (I would say), Japanese meal (“Kaiseki), preparation for boiling water (“Sumi demae”), thick tea (“Koicha”), and regular tea (“Usucha”). Maybe you came across Usucha before at a restaurant or a cafe. Usucha is a green tea which is made of tea powder with boiled water, whisked with a special bamboo tool called chasen. There are many kinds of chasen but mostly at my tea place, we use one that takes some of the oil out of the bamboo to make the tea softer when it touches your mouth. There is a trick to make a delicious tea. When you whisk the tea powder in hot boiling water, you need to whisk in the direction of 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, with the right amount of tea and the right temperature of the water. Don’t put too much strength in your hands, just whisk gently enjoying the smell of the tea that changes from the point of pouring hot water and while you are whisking.

This is the part that I love. I can only hear the sound of myself making tea, and the boiling water, the smell of the tea changing and seeing the tea creating a fine, very small bubble in the tea bowl. Especially in the winter time, we use a tea kettle that is boiled at the same level of the floor we are sitting in, so that we can feel the warmth from the kettle. When the boiling point comes, the tea kettle makes its own sound, which we call “Matsukaze”. Dictionary explains this sound as the wind blowing in the tops of the pine trees.

Senses

In my opinion, Japanese tea brings a calm, silent time, with all the senses I can feel. The smell of the tea, the sound of the matsukaze, the taste of the confectionery, touch of the tea bowl, and seeing things we haven’t seen before.

Breathe and relax.

This is something we forget easily in this busy world. And Rikyu, the great tea master, has set the places for all the utensils when we make Japanese tea so we can make the best tea gracefully with any unnecessary movement.

Breathe and relax with the green tea and feel the senses with your whole body.