Setsubun-e

Laugh while driving out demons at the mibu-kyogen farce

On the day before (Feb 2) and the day of (Feb 3) the Setsubun-e ritual performed at the Mibu-dera Temple, visitors come to pray for luck and protection against misfortune, while there are repeated performances of the mibu-kyogen pantomime show entitled “Setsubun”—this is one of thirty such programs, and audiences can enjoy its humorous bent. During the time the Setsubun-e is held, visitors can write the age and gender of family members on unglazed earthenware plates as offerings. During another mibu-kyogen program entitled horaku-wari (“plate smashing”) in April, the plates are broken, which is said to ward off disaster and grant the writer’s prayers. The mibu-kyogen performances are only on February 2 and 3 (eight times per day starting at 1:00 PM; audiences are changed each time and admission is free). Starting at 2:00 PM on February 2, ascetic yamabushi monks will burn wooden sticks within the temple grounds to ask deities for blessings.

Setsubun - A ritual performed on the day before the beginning of each of the four seasons. Spring setsubun, in particular, is celebrated to usher in the new lunar year, where participants scatter lucky roasted soybeans while shouting “oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi” (“demons out, fortune in”), and eating a number of beans equal to their age in order to ward off misfortune.