What Is Setsubun? Meaning, Bean Throwing, Ehomaki, and Overseas Reactions

When people in Japan hear the word Setsubun, many first think of mamemaki, the custom of throwing roasted soybeans while saying, “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi,” which means “Out with evil, in with good fortune.”

Others may think of ehomaki, the long sushi roll eaten while facing the lucky direction of the year.

But if someone asks, “What is Setsubun, really?” the answer is not quite as simple as “a bean-throwing festival.”

Setsubun was originally a seasonal turning point. In particular, the Setsubun held before risshun, the traditional beginning of spring, came to mark the end of the old year and the preparation for a new season.

In that sense, Setsubun was once closer to New Year’s Eve than to a casual seasonal event.

This article explains what Setsubun means, why Japanese people throw beans, why the date changes, what ehomaki represents, whether Setsubun is only celebrated in Japan, and how foreign visitors often react to this unusual but meaningful Japanese tradition.

What Is Setsubun? The Real Meaning of Japan’s Seasonal Turning Point

Setsubun literally means “dividing the seasons.”

Originally, the word referred to the day before each of the four traditional seasonal beginnings: risshun, rikka, risshu, and ritto. In other words, there were once four setsubun days in a year.

Today, however, Setsubun usually means the day before risshun, the traditional first day of spring.

Setsubun Means “Dividing the Seasons”

The word setsu refers to a seasonal point or division, while bun means to divide.

In older Japanese thought, seasonal transitions were not simply changes in weather. They were moments when the order of daily life could become unstable and unwanted forces were believed to enter more easily.

The shift from winter to spring was especially important because it marked a major turning point in the year.

That is why Setsubun became a day for driving out misfortune, illness, and disorder before welcoming a new seasonal flow.

Is Setsubun a Celebration?

Setsubun is sometimes described as a festival, but it is not exactly a day for celebrating something in the same way as a birthday or a holiday.

It is better understood as a day of clearing and preparation.

If Japanese New Year is about welcoming the new year, Setsubun is about pushing out what should not be carried into the next season.

The center of Setsubun is not simply celebration. It is transition.

Setsubun Originally Marked the End of the Year

Before modern calendar habits became dominant, the beginning of spring was closely connected with the feeling of a new year.

Because Setsubun was the day before risshun, it carried the meaning of the end of the year.

In a modern comparison, it had a role somewhat like December 31.

This is the key to understanding why Setsubun involves oni, bean throwing, purification, and good fortune. It was a day to keep unwanted things from crossing into the next season or year.

Setsubun Was Once Like New Year’s Eve in Japan

In the past, Setsubun was not only a day for children to throw beans at someone wearing a mask.

It was a day to prepare the home, the body, and the mind before entering a new phase of time.

The Old Calendar and the Beginning of Spring

In modern Japan, January 1 is the beginning of the year.

But before Japan adopted the solar calendar in the Meiji period, the sense of seasonal change and the sense of a new year were more closely connected.

Risshun, the traditional beginning of spring, was not always the same as the old lunar New Year. Still, the day before risshun was widely treated as an important boundary.

That boundary is what gives Setsubun its deeper meaning.

Why Setsubun Was a Day of Reset and Transition

On Setsubun, people drive away oni, throw roasted soybeans, and invite good fortune into the home.

These actions all point in the same direction: do not carry misfortune into the next season.

Even today, many people clean their homes, finish unfinished tasks, or mentally reset before the end of the year. Setsubun had a similar structure.

Before welcoming something new, people first created space for it.

How Setsubun Changed from Past to Present

Historically, Setsubun had a strong ritual character.

At court, a ritual called tsuina was performed to drive away harmful forces. Temples and shrines also held ceremonies connected with purification and protection. In ordinary homes, customs developed to prevent misfortune from entering the household.

Today, Setsubun is more often experienced through family bean throwing, oni masks, ehomaki, and local events.

This does not mean the culture has simply become lighter. Rather, its role has changed.

The heavy role of year-end transition has mostly moved to New Year’s Eve, while Setsubun now remains as a smaller seasonal reset before spring.

What Do People Do on Setsubun? Items and Meanings

Setsubun customs vary by region and household.

The best-known customs are mamemaki, eating beans, displaying hiiragi-iwashi, and eating ehomaki.

Mamemaki: Bean Throwing and Its Meaning

Mamemaki means throwing beans.

The beans used for Setsubun are usually roasted soybeans. Some families also prepare oni masks, especially when children take part in the event.

The best-known phrase is:

Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi.

It means, “Out with evil, in with good fortune.”

This phrase expresses the basic purpose of Setsubun. Unwanted things are pushed outside, and good fortune is welcomed inside.

Why People Eat Beans According to Their Age

After mamemaki, people often eat the same number of beans as their age.

In some regions, people eat one more bean than their age to represent the coming year.

This custom is not just an extra snack after bean throwing.

Eating the beans also expresses the wish for health and protection in the year ahead.

Hiiragi-Iwashi: Holly and Sardine Decorations

Another traditional Setsubun custom is hiiragi-iwashi.

This is a decoration made by placing the head of a grilled sardine on a holly branch and setting it near the entrance of the home.

The sharp holly leaves and the strong smell of the grilled sardine were believed to keep oni and harmful forces away.

Although this custom is less common today, it shows an important idea in Setsubun: the doorway is a boundary between inside and outside.

Is Ehomaki Necessary for Setsubun?

Today, many people associate Setsubun with ehomaki.

Ehomaki is a thick sushi roll eaten while facing the lucky direction of the year.

However, ehomaki is not the oldest or most essential part of Setsubun. The core of Setsubun is still the act of driving away misfortune and welcoming good fortune.

Ehomaki is better understood as a modern food custom that became attached to Setsubun.

Why Do Japanese People Throw Beans on Setsubun?

Mamemaki is the central act of Setsubun.

But why beans?

Why Beans Are Used

Beans have long been associated with life, growth, and vitality.

Using beans to drive away unwanted forces made sense in a ritual held at the boundary between one year and the next.

Bean throwing is not simply a playful attack on oni.

It is an action that gives shape to unseen misfortune and pushes it outside the home.

Is the “Mame / Mametsu” Explanation True?

One common explanation says that mame, meaning beans, is connected with mametsu, meaning the destruction of evil.

This explanation is often treated as a kind of wordplay that became attached to the custom later.

Even so, the idea fits well with the way beans came to symbolize the removal of misfortune.

The important point is that Setsubun should not be explained only through wordplay. Mamemaki belongs to a broader tradition of clearing away unwanted forces at the turning point of the year.

Why Roasted Beans Are Used

The beans used in Setsubun are usually roasted, not raw.

One explanation is that raw beans might sprout after being thrown. If beans used to drive away misfortune were to sprout again, people feared that misfortune might also return.

Roasting the beans symbolically prevents what has been driven out from taking root again.

In this sense, roasted beans express the desire not to carry old trouble into the new season.

What Do Oni Mean in Setsubun?

In Setsubun, oni are not just monsters from old stories.

They represent things people cannot easily see or control: illness, disaster, poor harvests, bad luck, anxiety, and disorder.

Driving out oni does not mean punishing someone. It means giving a visible form to invisible unease and sending it away.

This idea is also connected with the Japanese sense of clearing away impurity or disorder before entering a new stage of life.

Why Does the Date of Setsubun Change Every Year?

Many people think Setsubun is always February 3.

In reality, Setsubun can fall on February 2 in some years, and very rarely on February 4.

This is because Setsubun is not fixed to one calendar date. It is defined as the day before risshun.

Setsubun Is the Day Before Risshun

To understand the date of Setsubun, we first need to look at risshun.

Risshun is one of the 24 traditional solar terms and marks the beginning of spring in the old seasonal calendar.

Setsubun is the day immediately before risshun.

So if the date of risshun shifts, the date of Setsubun also shifts.

Why Setsubun Can Fall on February 2 or February 3

The modern calendar and the movement of the sun do not line up perfectly every year.

Small differences accumulate, and the date of risshun changes depending on the year.

As a result, Setsubun is usually February 3, but it can also be February 2.

The date changes not because Setsubun is vague, but because it follows its original definition: the day before the traditional beginning of spring.

What Is Ehomaki? Why Is It Eaten on Setsubun?

Ehomaki is a thick, uncut sushi roll eaten on Setsubun while facing the lucky direction of the year.

It is commonly associated with rules such as eating in silence, not cutting the roll, and facing the year’s lucky direction.

Ehomaki and the Lucky Direction of the Year

Eho means the auspicious direction of the year.

It is the direction associated with Toshitokujin, a deity of good fortune for that year.

Eating ehomaki while facing that direction is understood as a way to invite good fortune.

Behind this custom is a traditional belief that direction can carry meaning.

Why Is Ehomaki Eaten in Silence?

One common explanation says that people eat ehomaki in silence so their wish will not escape.

When we remember that Setsubun was once a boundary between years, the silence also feels connected with restraint and concentration.

At the turning point of time, people face the lucky direction quietly and receive good fortune without interruption.

When Did Ehomaki Spread Across Japan?

Ehomaki is often said to have developed mainly in the Kansai region.

It became widely known across Japan through convenience stores, supermarkets, and seasonal marketing.

For that reason, some people in Kansai feel that ehomaki is familiar, while people in other regions may feel that it suddenly became a national custom.

Rather than an ancient nationwide Setsubun tradition, ehomaki is best understood as a regional custom that spread nationally through modern retail culture.

Food Waste and Modern Setsubun

In recent years, ehomaki has also been discussed in connection with food waste.

Large numbers of sushi rolls are produced, some remain unsold, and some are thrown away.

The problem is not the culture of ehomaki itself.

The problem is the mismatch between a seasonal food custom and mass production.

If Setsubun is about preparing for good fortune, then preparing only what can be enjoyed without waste is also part of respecting the custom.

This connects with a broader Japanese attitude toward food. The feeling of receiving food with gratitude is explored further in Itadakimasu and Gochisousama: Meaning and History of Japan’s Mealtime Gratitude.

Is Setsubun Only Celebrated in Japan?

Many people ask whether Setsubun is only celebrated in Japan.

The answer depends on whether we are talking about its origin or its current form.

Tsuina: A Chinese-Influenced Ritual That Changed in Japan

Setsubun is connected with tsuina, a ritual influenced by ancient Chinese practices for driving away harmful forces at the end of the year.

Tsuina was introduced into Japanese court culture and later influenced seasonal customs among ordinary people.

For that reason, it would not be accurate to say that every part of Setsubun began only in Japan.

However, in Japan, these older ideas became connected with mamemaki, oni, hiiragi-iwashi, temple and shrine events, and family customs.

Bean Throwing, Oni, and Ehomaki Have a Strong Japanese Character

The current form of Setsubun is strongly Japanese.

Throwing roasted soybeans while saying “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi” is a familiar Japanese household custom.

Ehomaki, too, has become a distinctly modern Japanese Setsubun food.

So while the idea of driving away harmful forces has international parallels, the present-day shape of Setsubun is highly specific to Japan.

Similar Customs Overseas

Many cultures have customs for driving away unwanted forces and welcoming a new season or year.

Halloween, for example, contains ideas of boundaries, spirits, costumes, and the approach of winter. Chinese New Year uses sound, color, and celebration to welcome good fortune and push away bad luck.

These customs are not the same as Setsubun.

But the desire to clear away what feels harmful before entering a new period is not uniquely Japanese. Setsubun expresses that universal wish in a very Japanese form.

Overseas Reactions to Setsubun: How Foreign Visitors See Bean Throwing and Ehomaki

For many foreign visitors, Setsubun looks unusual, playful, and memorable.

People wear oni masks, throw beans, shout a phrase, and sometimes eat a long sushi roll in silence while facing a specific direction.

To Japanese people, these actions may feel familiar. To people seeing them for the first time, they can be surprising.

Bean Throwing Looks Unique and Playful

Mamemaki is often the easiest part of Setsubun for foreign visitors to remember.

The phrase “bean throwing” is simple, but it does not fully explain the meaning.

A clearer explanation is:

People throw roasted soybeans to drive away evil spirits and invite good fortune.

What makes Setsubun interesting to many foreigners is the contrast between its playful appearance and its older meaning.

It can look like a fun family event, especially when children wear masks. But underneath the fun is a serious idea: clearing away what should not enter the next season.

Ehomaki Looks Like a Strange but Memorable Sushi Custom

Ehomaki can also be surprising for people from outside Japan.

Sushi is widely known around the world, but eating a whole roll silently while facing the lucky direction of the year is much less familiar.

For that reason, foreign visitors may first see ehomaki as a quirky Japanese sushi custom.

But it becomes easier to understand when explained as a food custom for welcoming good fortune at a seasonal boundary.

The point is not simply that the rule is unusual. The point is that the act gives people a small, physical way to face the new season with intention.

How to Explain Setsubun to Foreigners

When explaining Setsubun in English, it helps to avoid translating only the surface details.

For example:

Setsubun is a Japanese seasonal event held around the beginning of spring. People throw roasted soybeans to drive away evil spirits and invite good luck.

This short explanation works because it includes three important points: the season, the action, and the meaning.

If you only say “Japanese people throw beans at oni,” the custom may sound strange without context.

If you explain that it is a ritual for clearing away misfortune before spring, Setsubun becomes much easier to understand.

Setsubun Festivals at Temples and Shrines as Travel Experiences

Setsubun is also experienced outside the home.

Temples and shrines across Japan hold Setsubun events, including bean throwing ceremonies and prayers for protection.

For foreign travelers, these events can be a chance to see a seasonal custom in a living setting rather than only reading about it.

Participating in or watching a Setsubun festival makes it easier to understand that Japanese seasonal traditions are not just old ideas preserved in books. They are still practiced in homes, neighborhoods, temples, and shrines.

What Does Setsubun Mean to Japanese People Today?

Modern Setsubun is no longer the heavy year-end ritual it once was.

But that does not mean it has lost its meaning.

A Day to Drive Out What Feels Unwanted

Even today, the idea of driving out unwanted things is easy to understand.

Anxiety, tiredness, bad habits, stagnation, and emotional disorder can all feel like something we want to push outside.

In that sense, Setsubun gives a simple form to an old human desire: to reset before moving forward.

A Day to Notice the Change of Seasons

Setsubun comes just before the traditional beginning of spring.

The weather may still be cold, but the calendar says spring is near.

By marking Setsubun, people become more aware of seasonal change.

They clean, prepare, eat, throw beans, or simply notice that time is turning toward spring.

A Small Way to Pass Down Japanese Culture at Home

Setsubun does not require a large ceremony.

A family can prepare a small amount of roasted soybeans, make an oni mask with a child, eat ehomaki together, or visit a local temple or shrine event.

Through these small acts, seasonal culture continues.

Setsubun is not only something to study. It is something people experience in ordinary homes and communities.

It is also connected with the broader Japanese feeling of marking the beginning of a new period. For more on how Japanese culture welcomes the start of a year, see Japanese New Year Culture: Origins, Toshigami Beliefs, and Overseas Reactions.

Conclusion: Setsubun Is a Day to Remember the Boundary Between Years and Seasons

In modern Japan, Setsubun is often known as the day of bean throwing or the day to eat ehomaki.

That is not wrong.

But when we look at the deeper meaning of Setsubun, we find a day for driving away misfortune and preparing to welcome a new season.

Setsubun was originally held on the day before risshun, the traditional beginning of spring. It carried the feeling of a year-end boundary.

People drove out oni, threw roasted soybeans, protected the entrance of the home, faced the lucky direction, and wished for good fortune.

From overseas, Setsubun may look like a strange event involving beans, masks, and silent sushi eating.

But behind those customs is a wish that many cultures can understand: do not carry old misfortune forward; welcome the next season with a clearer mind.

Setsubun is not only a lively event.

It is a small ritual for standing at the boundary between one time and the next.

FAQ

What is Setsubun?

Setsubun is a Japanese seasonal event held on the day before risshun, the traditional beginning of spring. It originally meant a seasonal division and became associated with driving away misfortune before entering a new season.

What does Setsubun celebrate?

Setsubun is less about celebration and more about purification and transition. People throw roasted soybeans to drive away unwanted forces and invite good fortune into the home.

Is Setsubun only celebrated in Japan?

The current form of Setsubun, including mamemaki, oni, and ehomaki, is strongly Japanese. However, the idea of driving away harmful forces at a seasonal or year-end boundary has influences and parallels beyond Japan.

Why does the date of Setsubun change?

Setsubun is the day before risshun. Because risshun is based on the movement of the sun, its date can shift depending on the year. That is why Setsubun is usually February 3 but can also fall on February 2.

How do you explain Setsubun to foreigners?

A simple explanation is: Setsubun is a Japanese seasonal event held around the beginning of spring. People throw roasted soybeans to drive away evil spirits and invite good luck.

CoCoRo編集部

サービス業支援メディア運営チーム

CoCoRo編集部は、「感謝の気持ちをカタチにする」ことをテーマに、サービス業界における新しい価値創造を目指す情報発信チームです。​デジタルギフティングや従業員エンゲージメントの向上に関する最新トレンド、導入事例、業界インタビューなど、現場で役立つ実践的なコンテンツをお届けしています。​おもてなしの心をデジタルでつなぐCoCoRoの世界観を、より多くの方々に知っていただくため、日々情報を発信しています。​