US EditionJapan Marks Last Day of Winter with Traditional Setsubun Bean-Throwing
Maiko and Shinto priests lead mame-maki ceremonies to ward off evil and pray for health, attracting large crowds at Yasaka Shrine and Hakone Shrine, officials said.
- On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, Yasaka Shrine and Hakone Shrine hosted Setsubun bean-throwing ceremonies, the AP reported.
- Longstanding purification rites underpin the bean-throwing custom now observed at homes and shrines, often with the chant `Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi` during mame-maki, rooted in ancient efforts to contain seasonal instability.
- Visitors crowded to catch roasted soybeans, believing they bring good luck, while a woman from Osaka said she felt it would be a great year after catching one.
- During the ritual, a Shinto priest and a figure dressed as a demon were pulled across Lake Ashi, symbolically carrying the `oni`, while priests recited prayers with deliberate movements.
- Known as mame-maki, the bean-throwing falls around Feb. 3 on the eve of Risshun and marks spring's start, while Hakone Shrine, founded more than 1,200 years ago beside Lake Ashi, links the ritual to centuries of practice.
10 Articles
10 Articles
Photos of a bean-throwing ritual to celebrate seasonal change and ward off evil at a Japanese shrine
HAKONE, Japan— Scores gathered at a shrine in Japan’s Hakone to try and catch “lucky beans,” hoping to ward off evil spirits as they celebrate the last day of winter in the Japanese lunar calendar.
Associated Press News
Photos of Hakone Shrine marking Setsubun with bean-throwing to ward off evil spirits
HAKONE, Japan (AP) — Scores gathered at a shrine in Japan’s Hakone to try and catch “lucky beans,” hoping to ward off evil spirits as they celebrate the last day of winter in the Japanese lunar calendar.
Driving Out Demons: Chichibu Shrine Believers Prepare for Setsubun
About 20 believers and others dressed in demon masks and costumes gather at Chichibu Shrine in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, on Wednesday ahead of the annual setsubun festival to be held there on Feb. 3. Practicing for the annual ritual of “oniyarai” (“driving out demons”) they shouted and ran around the shine grounds while wielding clubs, as men who were born in previous years of the horse, the Chinese zodiac symbol for this year, pelted them w…
On the 3rd of Setsubun, the annual Setsubun Evil-Averting Festival was held at Naminoue Shrine in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. Dressed in kamishimo and omigoromo ceremonial attire, men and women born in the year of the horse threw beans in the hope of warding off evil and for good health.
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