Setsubun

So today I went to the Shinto shrine in Osu Kannon to celebrate Setsubun; the Shinto holiday on the last day of winter according to the old Japanese calender.  Setsubun is basically a celebration of the coming spring and for the wish of good fortune and happiness in the coming season.

So en route to the shrine, I got separated from my group due to the large crowds, but this worked in my favor.  I actually ended up being right next to the oncoming parade of the Treasure Ship!  I was able to get great video and pictures of the beautiful ship passing by with Shinto priest and Maiko (shrine maidens) on board.

Once I rejoined my group, we made it to the main shrine, which had a large platform set up where people could toss beans from it.  During Setsubun, you throw beans to scare away evil spirits and say "Oni soto, ungaii uchi!" which means "Out demons, in good luck!".  And people below the platform had bags or hats to catch the falling beans in.

I wanted to throw beans myself, but it costs 3,000yen! So instead I bought a lucky bamboo branch with beans tied to it.

Despite the large crowd, it was definitely worth going to and seeing.