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Setsubun
The eve of spring in the old calendar, when roasted soybeans are thrown to drive out demons and bring in luck.
About Setsubun
Setsubun marks the day before the start of spring in the old Japanese calendar, a point of transition when misfortune was thought to slip in. At home, someone often wearing an oni (demon) mask is pelted with roasted soybeans while the household shouts a phrase meaning demons out, good fortune in. People then eat as many beans as their age, sometimes one extra, for health through the year. Branches of holly with a sardine head are hung at the entrance in some regions, because the smell and the prickly leaves are said to keep oni away. Shrines hold large public bean-throwing, and in Kyoto some gatherings include geisha dances.
Entries tied to it
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Setsubun" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Oni: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), Public domain, source