節分とは、立春の前日（旧暦の大晦日に相当）を指しますが、本来は立春・立夏・立秋・立冬の各季節の分かれ目を指す言葉です。昔の人は季節の変わり目に邪気が入りやすいと考え、様々な邪気祓いをしました。豆撒き、恵方巻き、焼嗅（やいかがし）などです。「豆」は「魔滅」、「豆を煎る」は「魔の目を射る」に通じ、「鬼は外、福は内」の掛け声で豆を撒きます。近年全国的に広がっている恵方巻きは、大阪船場が発祥とされ商売繁盛を祈願し、七福神に因んで七種類の具を「巻きこみ」、その年の福徳を司る神様のいる方向（恵方）に向って「縁を切らない」ように丸かじりします。「焼嗅」は柊鰯ともいい、鬼が鰯を焼いた臭いを嫌って近寄らず、仮に近寄っても柊の葉の棘で目をつつかれて逃げていくというのです。科学が発達した現代から見れば正に「鰯の頭も信心から」ですが、古来の風習や伝統を絶やさずに受けつないでいくことも必要なことだと思います。
There is a festival on Feb. 3rd in Japan called Setsu-bun. Originally Setsu-bun is a word to express the division of the seasons such as the first day of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Our ancestors believed that evil spirits come across our souls during the day between the two seasons, so they tried to drive away the evil spirits by throwing beans, eating sushi rolls facing the blessing direction and decorating a baked sardine’s head. The word “Mame” which means beans is close to the word “Mametsu” which means defeating the evil. The word “Mame-wo-Iru” which means roasting the beans is close to the word “Ma-no-Me-wo-Iru” which means shooting the evil’s eye. That’s why Japanese throw beans shooting “Oni-wa-Soto (Evils out!) Fuku-wa-Uchi (Good luck in!)” E-ho-maki, eating sushi roll facing a certain direction every year originally started in Semba, Osaka to pray for success in business. Because it is said that there are seven luck God (Sichi-Fuku-Zin), Japanese make sushi roll with seven ingredients. Usually, sushi rolls are cut before eating, but on this occasion it is eaten as a whole not to cut connections. Yaki-kagashi, decorating a baked sardine’s head, is also called Hiiragi-Iwashi. The evils (Ogres) hate the smell of it, so they won’t come close. Even if they did, their eyes will be poked with thrown of the holly sprig and run away. When we think about this customs from a modern science point of view, it is “believe well and have well (through faith, even something trivial like a sardine’s head seems valuable)”, but it is also important take over and pass on these traditions in Japan.