The story behind the day
Setsubun is the day before risshun, the first day of spring, so it falls in early February; reference works place it on 3 or 4 February. Its name means seasonal division. It grew from a Chinese exorcism rite, tsuina, that became a ritual of the Japanese court, and its most familiar form today is the throwing of roasted beans to drive out evil spirits and call good fortune in.[1–6]
Origins
Its name means seasonal division. The word once marked more than one turning of the year, and reference works differ on which, but today it names only the eve of risshun. Under the old lunar calendar risshun celebrated the beginning of the year, so Setsubun was in effect the last day of the old year, and the rite that gave it its character was first held on New Year's Eve. That rite is the Chinese exorcism called tsuina, which later reached Japan.[1, 3–5, 7]
What it marks
Setsubun marks the moment when the seasons turn, when evil spirits or ogres were believed to creep in. The household answer is to throw beans at them: the chant sends the ogres out and welcomes good fortune in. Reference works on Shinto also describe it as an exorcism observed in February.[6, 8]
How it came to be
In the Heian court tsuina was an important ritual on the last night of the year, the forerunner of Setsubun, held to drive out demons and the ills they bring. The rite began with a prayer chanted by an onmyōji, and a proclamation read to the kami is still part of tsuina today. From the palace the rite spread: from about the mid-Heian period, court nobles were holding comparable ceremonies at home, and by the Edo period it had reached the general population. Demon masks belong to this history too: in the exorcism, participants chase away figures in demon masks, and the Tokyo National Museum describes tsuina masks as those used in the ceremony held at Setsubun.[5, 9–11]
How it is kept
Bean-throwing, mamemaki, scatters roasted beans to expel evil spirits. At home the family calls out that the demon is outside and fortune inside, and throws beans through the house. A roasted sardine head on a sprig of holly is often placed at the entrance, to keep evil spirits away.[12–14]
Sources
Each statement above was checked against published sources; the verdict says whether it stood as written, was corrected or was hedged.
- VerifiedEndō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Setsubun, via Encyclopedia.com; National Diet Library, Setsubun and Jakibarai.
- VerifiedEndō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Setsubun, via Encyclopedia.com; Ishii Kenji, Annual Events and the Transformation of Japanese Religious Life.
- CorrectedEndō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Setsubun, via Encyclopedia.com.
- VerifiedNational Diet Library, Setsubun and Jakibarai; Endō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto.
- CorrectedShigeta Shin'ichi, A Portrait of Abe no Seimei, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 40/1; National Diet Library, Setsubun and Jakibarai; Endō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto.
- VerifiedNational Diet Library, Setsubun and Jakibarai; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Setsubun, via Encyclopedia.com.
- VerifiedNational Diet Library, Setsubun and Jakibarai; Ishii Kenji, Annual Events and the Transformation of Japanese Religious Life.
- VerifiedShinto, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices; Endō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto.
- VerifiedShigeta Shin'ichi, A Portrait of Abe no Seimei, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 40/1; Endō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto.
- VerifiedShigeta Shin'ichi, A Portrait of Abe no Seimei, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 40/1; National Diet Library, Setsubun and Jakibarai; Endō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto.
- CorrectedTokyo National Museum, Japanese Gallery; Endō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto.
- VerifiedEndō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Setsubun, via Encyclopedia.com.
- VerifiedNational Diet Library Digital Collection via Japan Search, The Bean-Throwing Festival; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Festivals and fasts, via Encyclopedia.com.
- CorrectedNational Diet Library Digital Collection via Japan Search, The Bean-Throwing Festival; Endō Jun, Setsubun, Encyclopedia of Shinto.