The day of Azuki bean porridge on the first full moon’s day
Today Jan.15th is a special day called “Shou-shou-gatsu(/The Minor New Year’s Day)”, “Mochi-no-hi(/望の日)”, a full moon’s day, and used to be the New Year’s Day in the lunar calendaor. And traditionally, it has been customary to eat “Azuki-gayu”( /小豆粥, sweet bean porridge) on this day since around 1200 years ago, for people have believed in the fact that that food contains special secrad power to ward off evil and keep people from suffering every disease.
That idea and custom of dispel evil with the beans were originally introduced from China maybe in early days in Heian Period(794-1192). Azuki sweet beans have color of red or purple, which were believed to have a magic power to repel evil.
On this date, Yoneura-sai(/粥占祭, a festival of fortune-telling using azuki beans) is hosted at a lot of Shinto shrines, where people put rice and azuki in a long bamboo tube and boil them to read outlooks of timing of the prospective paddy harvests of the year as well. In some areas, people also host a festival of tug-of-war between a “land team” and a “sea team” to read if they can enjoy rich field harvests or rich fishey yields in the year.
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