Today was my third Setsubun service, which marks the transition from Winter to Spring in the lunar calendar. Following the regular sutra recitation, the priest offered a purification prayer and then had those people born in the particular Chinese Zodiac year, the Rooster this year, help him bring good fortune to everyone by tossing hard candy into audience. After all the candy was gathered up, small bags of roasted sesame seeds were passed out. (See explanation below on that.) Finally a raffle of “paper products” was held. Why paper products? No clue. But the winning of raffle prizes was marked as a sign of good fortune ahead.
Here’s an explanation of Setsubun from the official Nichiren Shu newsletter.
Nichiren Shu News, April 1, 2015
By Rev. Kanjo Bassett
Setsubun is the last day of winter in the traditional Chinese calendar year comprised of 24 solar periods. In the Edo period, Setsubun became a popular celebration of seeing out the old year and welcoming the new.
The practice of throwing roasted soybeans to drive out oni, Japanese demons, dates from the Muromachi period. This practice then spread and split into endless local variations and traditions all over the country.
The one thing common among all these traditions is that demons do not like the smell of either roasted soybeans or sun-dried sardines hung in the front doorway, a custom still seen today in the Japanese countryside.
There is also the side benefit that once the demons are dispatched, one can eat the beans and dried sardines for good luck, preferably washed down with gulps of sake.
These days, large temples and shrines invite famous people to put on traditional dress and throw bags of beans from the ceremony hall foyer to the crowds below. Ikegami Honmonji holds one of the largest Setsubun celebrations in Tokyo. More than 10,000 people attended this year’s event, which began with a ceremony and prayers to dispel misfortune and bring good fortune to the whole world.
As the famous professional wrestler Rikidozan is buried on the temple grounds, the invited bean-throwing guests included a number of former professional, K-1 and sumo wrestlers, such as Akebono Taro, a former sumo champion, Jun Akiyama, president of the Pro Wrestling Association, and Katsuhiko Nakajima, a popular pro wrestler from the same association.
Setsubun also begins a busy month of celebrations that includes the Buddha’s Nirvana Day on the 15th of February and Nichiren Shonin’s birthday on the 16th of February.