Bean-throwing Ceremony History

Setsubun has its origins in tsuina (追儺), a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the 8th century. It was quite different from the Setsubun known today. According to the Japanese history book Shoku Nihongi, tsuina was first held in Japan in 706, and it was an event to ward off evil spirits held at the court on the last day of the year according to the lunar-solar calendar. At that time, tsuina was an event to drive away evil spirits that brought misfortune and disease by decorating each gate of the palace with clay figures of cows and children and using peach branches and walking sticks.

The custom of Setsubun as we know it today began in the Muromachi period (1336–1573). Every household of the aristocracy and samurai class threw beans from their houses into the open air. The “Ainōshō”, a dictionary compiled during the Muromachi period, states that the practice of bean-throwing during Setsubun originated from a legend in the 10th century, during the reign of Emperor Uda, that a monk on Mt. Kurama escaped misfortune by blinding oni with roasted beans. The Japanese word for bean, 豆, is pronounced mame, which can be written as 'devil's eye' (魔目), and some believe that the pronunciation is similar to that of mametsu (魔滅), meaning 'to destroy the devil', which is why people began throwing beans during Setsubun.

From the Edo period (1603–1867), the custom of throwing beans at Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and homes of ordinary people spread throughout Japan as an event or festival to drive away evil spirits during Setsubun. It was also during this period that the custom of tying roasted sardine heads to holly sprig to decorate the gates of houses during Setsubun began. This custom was intended to scare away oni with the thorns of the holly leaves and the smell of the roasted sardines. The original form of this custom is recorded in the Tosa Nikki, compiled in 934 during the Heian period (794–1185). The diary describes a Shinto shimenawa (sacred rope) that was hung on the gate of a house during the New Year's holiday to mark the boundary of purification, and that a mullet head pierced with a sprig of holly was attached to the shimenawa.

The custom of eating ehōmaki (恵方巻) on Setsubun began in the geisha districts from the Edo period to the Meiji period. Ehōmaki is a special makizushi (sushi roll) eaten on Setsubun. On Setsubun, people face the most auspicious direction of the year and eat the whole ehōmaki, an uncut sushi roll, to pray for prosperity and happiness for the year. It is believed that it was originally called simply marukaburi zushi (丸かぶり寿司) or futomaki zushi (太巻き寿司). The name ehōmaki may have spread throughout Japan in 1989, when a Japanese convenience store chain renamed it ehōmaki and began selling it.