In Japan, the ethnic religion of the people is Shinto (way of the gods). Many nations and peoples celebrate the divisions of the year and here, in an article from Wikipedia, we learn about Setsubun, one of those divisions.
Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. The name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the Spring Festival (haru matsuri). In its association with the Lunar New Year, spring Setsubun can be and was previously thought of as a sort of New Year's Eve, and so was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called mamemaki (literally "bean scattering"). Setsubun has its origins in tsuina (from M. Chin. ?wij na), a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the eighth century.
Mamemaki
The custom of Mamemaki first appeared in the Muromachi period. It is usually performed by the toshiotoko of the household (the male who was born on the corresponding animal year on the Chinese zodiac), or else the male head of the household. Roasted soybeans (called "fortune beans" , fuku mame) are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing an Oni (demon or ogre) mask, while the people say "Demons out! Luck in!" (Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!) and slam the door. This is still common practice in households but many people will attend a shrine or temple's Spring festival where this is done. The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one's life, and in some areas, one for each year of one's life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come.
The gestures of mamemaki look similar to the Western custom of throwing rice at newly married couples after a wedding.
Other practices
At Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines all over the country, there are celebrations for Setsubun. Priests and invited guests will throw roasted soy beans (some wrapped in gold or silver foil), small envelopes with money, sweets, candies and other prizes. In some bigger shrines, even celebrities and sumo wrestlers will be invited; these events are televised nationally. At Sens?-ji in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo, crowds of nearly 100,000 people attend the annual festivities. Many people come, and the event turns wild, with everyone pushing and shoving to get the gifts tossed from above.
It is customary in Kansai area to eat uncut makizushi called eh?-maki (lit "lucky direction roll"), a type of futomaki ("thick, large or fat rolls"), in silence on Setsubun while facing the year's lucky compass direction, determined by the zodiac symbol of that year. This custom started in Osaka, but in recent years eho-maki can be purchased at stores in the Kanto area and it is getting more recognized as a part of Setsubun tradition. Charts are published and occasionally packaged with uncut makizushi during February Some families put up small decorations of sardine heads and holly leaves (hiragi iwashi) on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter. Ginger sake (sh?gazake) is customarily drank at Setsubun.
Historical practices
The new year was felt to be a time when the spirit world became close to the physical world, thus the need to perform mamemaki to drive away any wandering spirits that might happen too close to one's home. Other customs during this time included religious dance, festivals, and bringing tools inside the house that might normally be left outside, to prevent the spirits from harming them.
Because Setsubun was also considered to be apart from normal time, people might also practice role reversal. Such customs included young girls doing their hair in the styles of older women and vice versa, wearing disguises, and cross-dressing. This custom is still practiced among geisha and their clients when entertaining on Setsubun.
Traveling entertainers (tabi geinin), who were normally shunned during the year because they were considered vagrants, were welcomed on Setsubun to perform morality plays. Their vagrancy worked to their advantage in these cases because they could take the spirits with them.
Regional variations
While the practice of eating makizushi on Setsubun is historically only associated with the Kansai area of Japan, the practice has become popular nationwide due largely to marketing efforts by grocery and convenience stores.
In the Tohoku area of Japan, the head of the household (traditionally the father) would take roasted beans in his hand, pray at the family shrine, and then toss the sanctified beans out the door.
Nowadays peanuts (either raw or coated in a sweet, crunchy batter) are sometimes used in place of soybeans.
There are many variations on the famous Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi chant. For example, in the city of Aizuwakamatsu, people chant "Oni no medama buttsubuse!, literally, "Smash the demons' eyeballs!".
