The Bean Throwing Ritual That Chases Winter Out of Japan

Every February, just before the start of spring on the old lunar calendar, Japan celebrates Setsubun with one of its most playful traditions: throwing roasted beans to chase away bad luck and welcome good fortune into the home.

The word Setsubun literally means seasonal division, marking the changeover between winter and spring on the traditional calendar. It usually falls on February 3rd, though the exact date can shift to February 2nd or 4th depending on the lunar cycle.

The holiday grew out of tsuina, a Chinese court ritual introduced to Japan in the 8th century to drive away evil spirits with clay figures and peach branches. The now famous bean throwing custom, known as mamemaki, developed later during the Muromachi period, inspired by a legend of a monk who defeated a demon using roasted beans.

On the day itself, families scatter roasted soybeans, called fukumame or fortune beans, out the front door or at a relative wearing an oni demon mask, shouting Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi, meaning demons out, fortune in, before shutting the door behind them.

Afterward, it is customary to eat one roasted soybean for every year of your life, plus one extra for good luck in the year ahead. Many households have also picked up the newer custom of eating ehomaki, an uncut sushi roll eaten in silence while facing that year's lucky compass direction, a practice that began among merchants in Osaka and spread nationwide over the 20th century as stores began marketing it every Setsubun.

Equal parts spiritual, playful, and delicious, Setsubun is a reminder that chasing away the old and welcoming in the new can be as simple as a handful of beans and a shout at the front door.