Setsubun (Bean Throwing Festival)

In Japan, the ritual driving out of demons, bad luck and evil spirits in preparation for the lunar New Year is achieved with boisterous mame-maki (bean throwing ceremonies), performances by colourfully dressed oni (goblins and demons) and plenty of high-profile celebrity appearances at shrines and temples across the country.

Roasted soya beans are the weapon of choice against the oni, which appear on this day in homes, schools, kindergartens and in temple and shrine precincts. As colourful "devils" wearing grotesque masks rush threateningly around, lively crowds pelt them with beans while shouting "Fuku-wa-uchi, Oni-wa-soto!" ("Good luck in, devils out!"), finally vanquishing them and chasing them away. The beans are said to symbolise the sowing of seeds and the impregnation of the Earth with new life.

Movie stars, pop singers, geisha and sumo wrestlers attend the ceremonies at larger shrines and temples to help with the bean throwing, also tossing handfuls of beans out onto the crowd to bring them luck. Good venues for these high-profile events in central Tokyo are the Asakusa Sensoji Temple, the Kanda Myojin Shrine and the Hie Shrine. More traditional ceremonies, involving demons with flaming torches and spectacular pitched battles between demons and Buddhist deities are held at Kofukuji Temple, and at the great Horyuji Temple, both in Nara and at various shrines and temples in Kyoto.

Another widely observed custom is to eat the same number of beans as your age, plus one for the coming year, to ensure health, good luck and prosperity. This is said to be particularly important if you are a man aged 25 or 42, or a woman aged 19 or 33, as these are unlucky ages and you'll need all the help you can get!

In rural areas, look out for a rather gruesome custom, which is to eat grilled sardines and stick the heads on sticks outside your front door, to frighten away any demons trying to enter.