カテゴリ:life

Setsubun

Oni, or the Monster of Setsubun

The 4th of February is the first day of spring on the Japanese calender. And a year is thought to start from the beginning of spring. Prior to this day, Setsubun Festival is held in various shrines and temples, and there they scatter beans against monsters, in order to remove bad luck.
We do the same at home, too. When we have a small child in a family, the father usually plays the role of the monster with a paper mask on his face, and the mother and the children chase him, throwing soy beans, shouting, "Monster out! Good luck in!".

Beans and Mask from a supermarket