Today, February 3 is Setsubun, or Seasonal division in Japan. It is a festival held on one day before the start of spring according to the Japanese lunar calendar. For many centuries, Japanese people have been performing rituals with the purpose of chasing away evil spirits at the start of spring.
Today I went to Rosanji Temple in Kyoto to see this traditional ceremony. I waited and waited for about one hour to keep a good place to take pictures. With the big sound of the drum and the shell horns, the red, green and black demons appeared and started to dance slowly on the stage. I did my best to take better pictures. But until this time I was extremely exhausted from standing too long, so I left there to take a rest.
According to the information, these demons were thrown beans and kicked out later.
I dedicate this post to Scenic Sunday.
This is fascinating - I always love learning about various cultures, with Japanese being one of my favorites. Thank you for sharing this!
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