Around February 3, the day before risshun, the traditional start of spring. The exact date shifts occasionally with the solar calendar, falling on February 2 in some years.

A thick, uncut sushi roll eaten in silence while facing the year's lucky direction on Setsubun. The custom spread from Osaka to the whole country and is now sold everywhere in early February.

Where are the most famous Setsubun events?

Sensō-ji in Tokyo, Naritasan Shinshō-ji, and Kawasaki Daishi hold huge celebrity bean-throwings, and Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto stages a dramatic demon-expelling rite the night before.

Setsubun

Practices

節分・ Reading: setsubun

Definition

The bean-throwing festival on the eve of spring by the old calendar, held around February 3. Shouting "demons out, fortune in", people scatter roasted soybeans to drive away evil, with rowdy public rites at temples and shrines.

Demons out, fortune in

Setsubun marks the day before risshun, the traditional first day of spring, when the turning season was believed to let evil slip into the world. The remedy is mamemaki: roasted soybeans hurled at demons, often a family member in an oni mask at home, to the cry of oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi (demons out, fortune in). Eating one bean for each year of your age, plus one for the year ahead, secures health, and many now also eat an uncut ehōmaki sushi roll in silence while facing the year's lucky direction.

Setsubun at temples and shrines

Major temples and shrines stage spectacular bean-throwing rites, with priests, sumo wrestlers, and celebrities flinging packets of beans (and sometimes prizes) into roaring crowds from a stage. Sensō-ji in Tokyo and Naritasan and Kawasaki Daishi near it draw tens of thousands, while Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto holds a great demon-expelling rite with roots in the old court exorcism ceremony. Arrive early, keep your hands free, and expect friendly chaos; catching a packet is considered excellent luck.

Common questions

When is Setsubun?: Around February 3, the day before risshun, the traditional start of spring. The exact date shifts occasionally with the solar calendar, falling on February 2 in some years.
What is ehōmaki?: A thick, uncut sushi roll eaten in silence while facing the year's lucky direction on Setsubun. The custom spread from Osaka to the whole country and is now sold everywhere in early February.
Where are the most famous Setsubun events?: Sensō-ji in Tokyo, Naritasan Shinshō-ji, and Kawasaki Daishi hold huge celebrity bean-throwings, and Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto stages a dramatic demon-expelling rite the night before.