Mamemaki Ritual from Setsubun Festival

Mamemaki Ritual from Setsubun Festival. Tossing Soybeans in a Favourable Direction for ‎Luck and Good Fortune (Ehō Kahō Fuku No Iri-Mame).‎
Setsubun is a festivity that celebrates the transition from winter to spring, on the day before ‎‎the beginning of spring. One of its rituals is called mamemaki. This is a purification ritual ‎‎practiced every year both in homes and in places of worship between 2 and 4 February ‎‎‎(typically on the 3 February), a date that marks the arrival of spring according to the lunisolar ‎‎calendar. On this day, the oni, or demons, are chased away. People throw roasted beans ‎‎throughout the house and at family members disguised as oni, shouting "Fortune in, oni out!" ‎‎In certain places of worship, performances offer displays of the oni being chased away. This ‎‎ritual ends with priests and local personalities throwing bags of roasted soybeans, which ‎‎those present attempt to catch given their auspicious nature. Around this time, in rural areas, ‎‎dried sardines are placed over the doors of dwellings, hoping the foul smell will drive away ‎‎the oni. It is also customary to eat roasted beans in equal number to one's age, to attract ‎‎luck for the coming year. ‎
‎ The print depicts the mamemaki ritual. On the right-hand side, a young aristocrat wears a ‎‎ceremonial dress while holding a small wooden stand, as he throws roasted beans at the ‎‎women who animatedly try to catch them. The mamemaki aims to ward off evil and usher ‎‎good things for the year ahead.‎