Konnichiwa Sensei and Students.

With school closures affecting some lessons this week we have provided activities for those children to complete at home. The link for our website can be shared with carers/students or printed and sent home.

We hope to see you all in Week 5!

Peta and Ken Sensei :)

What is Setsubun?

Setsubun, celebrated on February 3rd, is the Japanese ritual of driving out bad luck and evil spirits and welcoming in good luck and good health in preparation for spring. On Setsubun, people have bean-throwing ceremonies called mamemaki and eat one soybean for every year old they are, which gives them good health and long life. Although Setsubun is a very popular custom in Japan, it is not a national holiday. For most children in Japan, Setsubun is a fun holiday. They make or buy masks and pretend to be Japanese monsters called oni as part of the mamemaki ceremony. These monsters appear in old Japanese folktales and legends. They usually have one or two horns on their foreheads, wear tiger-skin pants and hold large spiked weapons in their hands. In some stories, they are humorous and kind, but more often they are mean and evil.

Junior & Senior students: Please print out the instructions below to make an oni mask.