Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!
Setsubun (節分 - bean throwing festival) is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan.
As part of the spring festival, setsubun is celebrated yearly on February 3rd. In its association with Lunar New Year, spring Setsubun can be and was previously thought 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 dicease - evil spirit for the year to come.
Fukumame (福豆 - fortune beans) are thrown either out the door or at the member of the family who wears an oni/ devil mask, while shouting “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” ( 鬼は外！福は外内！- Demons out! Good luck in!) and slam the door.
Beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that brinfs 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 - in some areas - plus one more for bringing good luck for year to come. This gestures called mamemaki 豆撒き.
The mamemaki usually performed by the head of household or the male who was born corresponding the animal year on the Chinese zodiac.
