How to Celebrate Setsubun (Japanese Spring Holiday)

One of my favorite Asian cultural traditions is that there are tons of celebrations for spring! Everyone knows about Chinese New Year, but I’ve been trying to incorporate more Japanese holidays into our family as well. Setsubun is the Japanese holiday that celebrates the beginning of spring, and it’s especially fun for kids. It’s got demons, soybeans, good luck, and sushi?! Curious about this holiday yet? Read on to learn more ideas for activities to celebrate Setsubun.

What is Setsubun?

Setsubun is a Japanese holiday that celebrates the beginning of spring in the Japanese lunar calendar. In this holiday, it’s tradition to expel out the oni, or demons, in your house, and invite in good luck. There’s also a special sushi called ehoumaki that’s eaten on this day.

Setsubun Tradition – Mamemaki

Did you do a double take when I talked about expelling demons? Don’t worry, we’re not talking about The Exorcist. Throwing out the demons in your house is actually supposed to be a fun activity for families called mamemaki. In our kids’ Japanese school here in America, one of the teachers dresses up in a demon costume, but it’s NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY. The Japanese word for demon is oni. Oni are always drawn kind of comically. They’ve got colorful faces and gnarly looking teeth, almost like the western ogre. The kids then take roasted soybeans and throw them at the oni. Actually, I think the kids’ Japanese school just uses regular uncooked soybeans that aren’t roasted. So just make do. The oni runs out the door while the kids say, “oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!” This means “get out oni, good fortune come in our house!”

I’m going to be real, I have no idea why you have to throw the beans. But it’s fun.

I know in Western culture, the idea of introducing demons to children is weird. I was more used to American horror movie demons, so I was freaked out at first too. But I kind of like the idea that children know that there are “bad guys,” like oni, and even though the oni are bad, they’re not something you should be scared of. In fact, even children can stand up to them and defeat them!

Setsubun Activity – Oni no Pantsu Song

If you’re introducing Setsubun to your kids, try having them learn this popular children’s song. It’s called oni no pantsu, and it translates to “The Demon’s Underwear.” It’s funny!

Setsubun Book – Oni wa Soto

If you can read hiragana, reading this picture book can be a great Setsubun activity for kids too.

Setsubun Craft – Make an Oni Mask

My kids love making oni masks! It doesn’t have to be super fancy – just use paper plates, paint, and construction paper. Some key points of decorating oni include the blue, green, or red faces, sharp fangs, horns, and angry looking eyebrows.

My kids bring home these oni masks from school every year. Then we take turns wearing the mask to be the “oni.” The ones not wearing masks take raw soybeans and throw them at the “oni” while yelling, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” The oni must pretend to flee at the sight of the soybean attack. It’s rather fun.

Setsubun Food – Eat Ehoumaki

Ehoumaki is a super thick sushi roll that you leave uncut. It’s a setsubun tradition to eat an entire ehoumaki roll in silence while facing that year’s lucky direction. If you Google ehoumaki direction it should tell you which direction to face on which years!

Okay, to be honest, we don’t really take care to eat in silence. I WISH we could eat in silence. Good lord, with two small children, a meal in silence sounds like a dream. But we do enjoy an ehoumaki. These days in Japan, many stores will do special ehoumaki for the holiday. At least, that’s what I am told by my friends. With our American school schedule, we are not able to travel to Japan during the spring.

Luckily, we can make ehoumaki at home. If you, like us, are unable to travel to Japan during the lunar spring season, then you can try making your own too! Just use my recipe!