F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-104
Sōgan-ji Setsubun-e Oni-oi Mamemaki Ceremony
總願寺 節分会 鬼追い豆撒き式そうがんじ せつぶんえ おにおいまめまきしき
On the night of Setsubun each year, Sōgan-ji in Kazo — one of the three great Fudō temples of the Kantō region — stages one of eastern Japan's most dramatic exorcism rites. Three demons, painted blue, red, and black, emerge from the temple precincts wielding enormous halberds (ōono) and rage before the main hall. A great pyre of timber lashed into a well-cribbed frame is set alight in front of the temple, and the demons are symbolically smoked out by the flames before being subdued through the chanting of the Shingon priesthood. Once the rite of subjugation concludes, year-men and year-women dressed in kamishimo formal wear scatter ritual beans and lucky coins from elevated platforms into the gathered crowd, drawing several thousand visitors annually. The juxtaposition of esoteric Buddhist ritual, Shugendō fire elements, and popular Setsubun custom makes Sōgan-ji's ceremony one of the most ethnographically substantial winter rites surviving on the Kantō plain.
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Appearance of three demons: figures in blue, red, and black masks brandish large halberds before the main hall, a dramatic staging rarely encountered elsewhere
- 02Lighting of the great pyre: a cribbed-timber bonfire is ignited in front of the main hall, symbolically smoking out the demons and recalling the fire rituals of Shugendō
- 03Bean and coin scattering by year-men and women: dignitaries in formal kamishimo attire toss ritual beans and lucky coins from raised platforms after the demons are subdued