The annual Setsubun holiday is widely celebrated as a time for banishing the evils of the previous year by chucking ‘lucky beans’ at lurking demons. But over in Shimokitazawa, the Sotoshu Daiyuzan Shinryuji temple also takes this opportunity to honour the evil spirits or demons (known in Japanese as ‘tengu’) that guard the temple (from bigger, more evil spirits, we assume).
Leading up to the main event, on the night of February 2, a tengu and his entourage will pay a visit to the neighbourhood restaurants while blowing conch shells and playing drums. This marks the start of the Setsubun Eve Tengu Ceremony at 8pm. Then, on February 3 at 2pm, local shop owners, priests and other temple folks will pay respects to their tengu with a stroll through the streets (yes, while throwing beans) in a festival called ‘Journey to the Heavenly Tengu’.
On February 4, you can take part in a stamp rally by shopping at participating stores, starting from 1pm. You can use the stamps to play a game, where you have to pour the exact amount of soybeans into a bag to win a prize.