February Articles_2020

1.EXHIBITIONS　
BANSUISO 　Closed : Feb. 3, 17
Feb. 2 14:00 Irish Harp Mini-Concert / Free
NHK ART GALLERY
9:30-17:00 (-16:00 on the last day of exhibition) 　 Closed: Mondays
-Feb. 2 Student Works from Matsuyama Minami High School
Feb. 4-9 Exhibition highlighting local art magazine, The Earth
IYOTETSU TAKASHIMAYA 10:00-19:30 (-18:00 on Feb.17) Open: Everyday
Restaurants (11:00-22:00) Ferris Wheel (10:00-22:00)
6th Floor ART GALLERY Admission: Free (-16:00 on the last day of exhibition)
–Feb. 4 Woodblock Prints Bazaar
Feb. 5-11 Modern Japanese Paintings
MITSUKOSHI　　11:00-19:00 　　　Open: Everyday
6th Floor ART GALLERY (-16：00 on the last day of exhibition) Admission: Free
Feb. 4-10 “Future Masters” Various Works by the next generation of young artists

2. TV
NHK BS　Premium
Daytime Movie Theater
Feb. 3 THE ABYSS SPECIAL EDITION 1993　　　　 U.S.A　 13:00-15:52
4 TRUE GRIT 1969 U.S.A 13:00-15:09
5 GANGS OF NEW YORK 2002 U.S.A 13:00-15:48
6 INCEPTION 2010 U.S.A 13:00-15:29
7 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962 U.S.A 13:00-15:10

Night Movie Theater
Feb. 3 THE PIANIST 2002 Poland-France 21:00-23:30
10 DREAMGIRLS 2006 U.S.A 21:00-23:11

3. Performances
MATSUYAMA SHIMIN KAIKAN
Feb. 5 18;30– T-BOLAN Concert 3,850 yen
MASAKICHO SOGO FUKUSHI CENTER
Feb. 2 14:00- Opera Ehime Performance “Mateki”
4,000 yen (Advance: 3,500 yen)
High school students and younger: 1,500 yen (Advance: 1,000 yen)

EMIFUL MASAKI
*Feb. 5 13:00- 15:00-
Jazz Concert Free

4.THEATER MOVIES
OKAIDO CINEMA SUNSHINE Tel. 089-986-6633
KINUYAMA CINEMA SUNSHINE Tel. 089-911-0066
SHIGENOBU CINEMA SUNSHINE Tel. 089-990-1513
CINEMA SUNSHINE EMIFUL MASAKI Tel. 089-984-2211
>>Feb.>> FROZEN II [Ana to Yuki no Joou 2] Kinuyama, Masaki, Okaido & Shigenobu
>>Feb.>> STAR WARS: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker Kinuyama, Masaki, Okaido & Shigenobu
>>Feb.>> CATS　　Kinuyama, Masaki, Okaido & Shigenobu
>>Feb.>> ONWARD [1/2 no Mah?] Kinuyama, Masaki, Okaido & Shigenobu
>>Feb.>> BAD BOYS FOR LIFE Kinuyama, Masaki & Shigenobu
>>Feb.6 OUR BLOOD IS WINE [Georgia Wine ga Umareta Tokoro] Okaido only Feb.7>> JOKER Kinuyama only
>>Feb.13 FORD V FERRARI Kinuyama, Masaki & Shigenobu
Feb.14>> 1917 [Inochi wo kaketa Denrei] Kinuyama only
>>Feb.20 JOJO RABBIT Kinuyama only
>>Feb.20 RICHARD JEWELL Kinuyama & Shigenobu

★ 10A.M. Film Festival (Gozen Juu ji no Eigasai).

★ OKAIDO Cinema Sunshine
Movie classics will be shown everyday from 10:00 a.m., changing one or two weeks on Saturday.
Jan.24-Feb.6 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA [Arabia no Rorensu]

CINEMA LUNATIC Tel. 089-933-9240 (Matsugeki building 2F.) Closed:Tuesdays

Feb.21-Mar.5 THE GREAT ESCAPE [Dai Dass?]

5. FESTIVALS
Feb. 3 SETSUBUN 節分
Setsubun literally means parting of the seasons and is eve of the first day of each season (Rishun 立春, Rikka 立夏, Rishu 立秋, and Ritto 立冬). But gradually it came to indicate only the eve of Rishun. It was said that “bad air” rises at the changing of seasons, so people would pray to avert trouble (yakuyoke 厄除). This custom of yakuyoke was introduced from China in ancient times and was one of the annual events in the Japanese Court in the Heian era (8th -12th century). Scattering roasted beans (mame-maki) on Setsubun became popular among people in the Muromachi era (14th -16th century). People scatter roasted beans at oni (devils) to drive them away from the house. Beans have been used as a charm against demons since ancient times. A “praying the devil away ceremony” is held at many temples and shrines.
Yaku-doshi
According to a popular Japanese belief, a person is apt to fall ill or to experience other misfortunes at certain ages called yaku-doshi. It is said that men enter these critical stages in their 25th, 42nd, and 61st years and women in their 19th, 33rd, and 37th years, and that the most critical year in a person’s life (tai-yaku) is age 42 for men (born in 1979 this year) and 33 for women (born in 1987). They will pray at temples and shrines to avoid evil spirits. The year before and after yaku-doshi are called mae-yaku and ato-yaku and precaution is called for.

Feb. 3 SETSUBUN-SAI Ishite-ji temple
Prayer services to Bodhisattva for safety and good health (goma-kito) are held to exorcise devils. The priests and toshi-otoko, men who were born in the Year of the Mouse (ne 子) this year in Chinese astrology, scatter lucky roasted beans (mame-maki) and rice cakes (mochi-maki), shouting “Fuku wa uchi, Oni wa soto” (let fortune in and devils out). Priests dressed as devils whack the evil spirits out of you with a long stick. People bring their old fortune papers and New Year’s decorations to be burned.
7:00 Yakuyoke kigan 　(prayer)　starts.
13:30 Goma-kito Wooden tablets, called goma-ki, with wishes or prayers written on them are piled in the precinct and burned.
11:00 / 13:30 / 14:30 Mochi-maki (Tel. 089-977-0870)

Feb. 3 YAKUYOKE　MATSURI ( (Warding off evils festival) 9:00-１８:00
Henjo-in temple Hama, Kikuma-cho, Imabari City
Henjo-in temple in Imabari City and Yakuo-ji temple in Tokushima Prefecture are the two most famous Yakuyoke temples in Shikoku.
Otakiage (burning sandals)
Those who are at the critical ages put on yakuyoke waraji (straw sandals) at the gate of the temple and then take them off at the main hall, where they are burned. By burning the sandals they ward off the devil and are blessed with good fortune.
9:00-18:30 Yakuyoke-kito every 20 minutes
12:30 　Special Goma-kito
13:00 Mame-maki and mochi-maki
Onigawara hono (dedication) ritual
Toshi-otoko scatter lucky roasted soybeans and rice cakes, shouting, “Fuku wa uchi, Oni mo uchi (Fortune in, Devils in, too)”, a twist on the usual mame-maki chant “Fuku wa uchi, Oni wa soto”, since Kikuma-cho is widely known for making devil-shaped roof-tiles (onigawara). They welcome the devil as a symbol of prosperity of the town. After mame-maki and mochi-maki, about 40 men of the age of 42 carry a big portable shrine with a devil-figure clay tile called onigawara-mikoshi, which weighs about 400 kilograms, around the temple precinct.
A lot of people visit for yakuyoke and pray for their good health and fortune. There are many stalls such as takoyaki, watagashi (cotton candies), yakisoba and sweet candies.
（Tel. 0898-54-3128）
Transportation: Take the Iyotetsu bus bound for Omishima at Shi-eki gate #5 and get off at the Kikuma bus stop. Or take the JR local train bound for Imabari and get off at Kikuma station. From the station it takes about 7 minutes on foot.

Feb. 3　 SETSUBUN YAKUYOKE-TAISAI 　　8:30-19:30
Izumo-taisha　shrine Matsuyama branch Honmachi　3-chome　5-5、Matsuyama City
Kagura-mai (traditional Shinto dance) is performed at the shrine. There are two kinds of dances performed several times throughout the day (10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00). One is Daikoku-mai. Daikoku is another name of Okuninushi-no-mikoto, who is the god of this shrine. The other dance comes from Amanoiwato legend. According to the story, Susano-no-mikoto, who is the brother of Amaterasu-omikami, the Sun Goddess, fights and kills a huge eight-headed snake called Yamata-no-orochi. At the shrine you will see the fight reenacted in an abbreviated form, where two of the snake’s heads are cut off, accompanied by drums, flutes and bells.
The dances take about forty minutes. (Tel. 089-921-3229)
Transportation: The shrine is located near the tramcar station Honmachi 4-chome (Iyotetsu Honmachi Line), on the west side of Route 196.
Feb. 7-March 30 The 5th EXHIBITION OF KAMABOKO-ITA-NO-E (Paintings on kamaboko
boards) Collaborating with Shiki’s Haiku 9:00-17:00 Shiki-kinen Museum 3F
Winning works of haiku contests written by elementary, junior high, and high school students in Matsuya City are also exhibited this year. Admission: Free (Tel. 931-5566)
March 8 Workshop by Midori Akita, a picture book writer

6. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Worship at the Fukuin Center
Feb. 2, 9, 23 9:00~10:45 Sunday Service
Feb. 16 13:30~14:45 Worship in English
Matsuyama Fukuin Center Heiwa-dori 1-6-6 Tel: 089-925-1008
You are most welcome to our church! Please visit our web site: http://bit.ly/2LugPBV

Matsuyama Toastmasters Club
Matsuyama Toastmasters Club is a non-profit, international organization for improving communication and leadership skills. We practice public speaking in English and Japanese. Visit us 3 times for free to see if Toastmasters is for you.
http://www.matsuyama.toastmastersclubs.org
Feb. 1 (Sat.) 19:00-20:30 COMs 3F