“Setsubun” bean-throwing event held at Narita temple

February 4, 2018

Narita, Chiba Pref.- A bean-throwing event was held at Naritasan Shinshoji, a major Buddhist temple in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Sunday, the day of "Setsubun" in Japan.

Wearing "kamishimo" formal samural costumes, sumo wrestlers such as yokozunas Hakuho and Kisenosato, some cast members of the "Segodon" period drama series of NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corp., and others threw soybeans and peanuts in front of the temple's Great Main Hall while chanting "Fuku wa uchi! Fuku wa uchi!" to pray for rich harvest and reconstruction of areas hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Setsubun is the day before the start of spring according to Japan's old calendar, and cerebrations for the end of winter and the beginning of spring have been held across the country on the day, in which usually soybeans are thrown to kick out demons and bring luck in. "Fuku wa uchi" means "luck in" in English.

"We have received a lot of support from people nationwide," said Futoshi Toba, mayor of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture, who joined the event to represent disaster-hit regions. "We'd like to express our heartfelt gratitude."

For the event, 860 kilograms of soybeans and 400 kilograms of peanuts were prepared. A crowd of people reached out their hands whenever soybeans and peanuts were thrown. Jiji Press