Setsubun - Bean-Throwing Festival
The festival marking the transition from winter to spring, driving out evil spirits.
Setsubun marks the day before the beginning of spring. Families throw roasted soybeans while chanting 'Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi' (Out with demons, in with fortune). This ritual purifies the home and invites good luck for the coming year.
With each thrown bean, we drive out misfortune and invite happiness.
Setsubun combines purification with the celebration of seasonal change.
Folk traditions
Written about in
- What Shinto says about cycles and renewal
On the eve of spring, roasted beans are thrown in the house, out with misfortune and in with good luck. The turn of a season gets marked physically, in the hallway.