Setsubun （節分）

I went to a Setsubun ceremony at Sensou-ji in Asakusa last Saturday.
先週の土曜日、浅草の浅草寺に節分の行事を見に行ってきました。

While setsubun ceremony, people throw beans at someone who wears a daemon mask. The daemon is a metaphor for sickness or unhappiness, and throwing beans drives them off. People say “Oni ha soto, fuku ha uchi (daemons outside, lucky inside)” while throwing beans. And then, people eat the beans (if it's inside, the beans they threw). The number of beans is the same as your age. It is said that eating the beans bring happiness and good health to you.
節分の行事では、鬼の仮面を着た人に豆を投げます。鬼は病気や不幸の例えで、豆を投げることでそれらを追い払うのです。人々は豆を投げながら「鬼は外、福は内」と言います。それから豆（屋内なら投げた豆）を食べます。個数は年齢と同じ数です。豆を食べることが幸運や健康をもたらすと言われています。

This event is usually held in each family, especially those which have small children, but it is also held at some temples. Sensou-hi is one of them. Some famous people who are living or working in Asakusa stood on the stage and threw a paper-pack of beans to the audience. The audience are not daemons though.
このイベントはたいてい家庭内、特に小さい子どものいる家庭で行われますが、いくつかの寺院でも開催されます。浅草寺はその一つです。浅草出身の有名人たちが舞台に立ち、観客に向かって豆の入った紙袋を投げました。観客は鬼じゃないですけどね。

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