Setsubun Festival

A cactus, dolphins and a killer whale at home today

Still it’s freezing cold outside.
Our elder daughter Emi has gone to Tokyo and been living alone since almost one year ago at the time of her entrance to her college.

When the two daughters were living together with us here, we used to have Setsubun ritual in this season, early February.

But, this year our younger daughter Rina was too busy for her club activity and study to celebrate Setsubun. Another reason, of course, is we are just too lazy to do it. lol

Wearing Oni masks in 2009

 Setsubun literally means "seasonal division" or "the day between two seasons."

It's celebrated yearly on February 3 or 4 as a part of the Spring Festival.

Setsubun was accompanied by a special ritual called Mamemaki.

Holding Oni masks and soybeans

Roasted soybeans are thrown at a member of the family wearing an Oni (demon or ogre) mask.

The beans are thought to purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them.

Then, as a part of bringing luck in, we customary eat the same number of soybeans as our age.