節分祭 and Trip to Kyoto

           Today is my first day back at school after an extra long weekend for spring break. I kept busy: I went to a sake brewery/museum, did the tour of the Yamazaki Whisky Distillery (山崎蒸留所、Yamazaki Jooryuujo), spent a night in Kyoto, and went to a local shrine for the Setsubun festival（節分祭、Setsubun Matsuri）, the Japanese celebration of the coming of spring (hence why this break is called ‘spring break’ even though we do not consider spring to start until March). We did not have much homework, so I was able to get a good bit of saxophone in as well!

            Setsubun is celebrated annually on February 3^rd, and the celebration falls close to the Lunar New Year (this year on Feb 5^th). This festival is used as a way to cleanse the previous years evil and to bring good luck and happiness for the coming year. This is done through 豆撒き、”mamemaki” or bean throwing. Participants will throw soybeans out the door of their home (or at a shrine) and yell the phrase：鬼は外！福は内！（oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!, or Demons out and luck in!）. Sushi rolls are also eaten in silence in the good luck direction of that year, based on the zodiac (I've heard people say it's North North West this year, but upon googling I see East North East, so I’m not sure). At the shrine closest to where I live,　長田神社 (Nagata shrine), there is also a dance done by men in demon costume, who wave lit torches over the assembled crowd. There is a priest who beats a drum, followed by several more behind him who blow in conches, at which point the demon waves the torch again.

         This festival is very popular in Japan, and very important for many people. While certainly not everyone will travel to their local shrine to participate, many families do. Many cultures have some sort of purification ritual that is performed on significant days (such as the Hindu aarthi, for instance), and Setsubun is no exception. In Setsubun, the Japanese concepts of uchi and soto, or inside and outside, are invoked in order to cleanse oneself. For the Japanese, much of the “evil” or dirtiness comes from the outside, and the inside (oneself, or one’s home) should be a place free of this evil. Being afflicted by this is somewhat unavoidable by most people living in a broader society. So these rituals invite good luck back into the home for the coming year, while driving away the uncleanliness that you have accumulated. [If I said anything wrong here, anyone who knows about this subject feel free to correct me!] This particular ritual did remind me of yearly aarthi on Dewali, where my family would circulate a small flame and pray over it, in order to transfer all the accumulated “evil” from oneself to the flame, which would then be put at the end of our drive way outside our house and left to burn out. Similar rituals are performed at temples, although I personally have never participated in anything so big as this back home in the US. The Shrine was packed with people, and there were a lot of people with very nice cameras trying to get pictures, as well as families with young children watching the event. One more thing: whatever they were burning in the torches had a wonderful smell, smoky and citrusy and sweet, almost like a smoky margherita (perhaps with mezcal?).

            This has been a weekend of wonderful scents. A couple days before that I went to Kyoto and paid 1000 yen for a tour and tasting at the Yamazaki Distillery. The Distillery is owned by Suntory, and is Japans first whisky distillery, founded in 1923. I highly recommend anyone who is interested in whisky to do the tour, it is very comfortable and you get to see and smell each step of the whisky process.

view of the distillery from outside

fermantation vats

wash room: where the fermented beer is distilled into new make spirit (which our tour guide referred to as ウィスキーの赤ちゃん、or "baby whisky"): whisky before it is put in the barrels to be aged. I tried some of this, it is sweet and full flavored.

warehouse, these barrels are full of whisky.

a little park, the location of the distillery was chosen due to the good quality water that runs down from the mountain nearby

Tasting (from left to right): Yamazaki white oak, Yamazaki wine cask, then two drams of Yamazaki 12yr.

Above two photos are the "whisky library," they have shelves of different bottlings and experiments they have done, as well as samples of whiskies from distilleries from around the world (including many owned by Suntory, such as Jim Beam, Makers Mark, Laphroaig, Bowmore, and Canadian Club).

The pictures cannot convey the scent: it was intoxicating. The fermentation room was hot, and smelled like sourdough and sugar. The still room was my favorite, it was also very hot and smelled like baked apples and cinnamon. The warehouse was not temperature controlled, so it is chilly at this time of year, and it smelled sweet, oaky, and the most like the whisky that we know. I tried 4 different Yamazaki products, the White Oak, the Wine Cask, the 12yr Single Malt, and the new make spirit. I also tried the Hakushu 18yr (a whisky from Suntory's other famous distillery in Japan, up near Tokyo). I actually preferred this one to the Yamazaki as it has a touch more smoke. Everything was delicious here. The Japanese enjoy their whisky, and they are big fans of highballs: 1 part whisky to about 4 parts soda water, over ice. They gave us two pours of the Yamazaki 12, the second one was in order to make a highball! Japanese whisky has won numerous awards, and it is known for it's delicate palate and deep complexity. Those of you who know me know that I am partial to the heavier malts of Islay, but I think Japanese whisky is way up there.

            I was out of the distillery by around 2pm, at which point I headed to Kyoto, only about 20 minutes by train from the distillery. That night I went to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, as well as a fantastic cocktail bar called the Rocking Chair, and a jazz show. The next day I visited Toji Temple and the Fujiwari Inarii Shrine. Ate some delicious ramen: 

I will post about those experiences soon in a part two: I can't give everything up at once! 

          

Hope everyone is happy and healthy! Happy New Year!