At Ishite Temple in Matsuyama City, a Setsubun festival was held on the 2nd, hoping for a year without illness, taking measures against infection.
At Ishite Temple, the 51st temple of the Shikoku Sacred Ground in Matsuyama City, a Setsubun festival is held every year to pray for a year of disease-free breathing and disaster prevention, and the precincts are crowded with people who enjoy "mochi-maki". I will.
However, in order to avoid the crowds of worshipers, this year we changed to "mochi-maki", which is handed to worshipers instead of "mochi-maki", so we cannot see the lively scene of grabbing mochi while competing as usual. It was.
The rice cakes that were handed over were not the rice cakes that the temple members had attached to them, but were ordered from a vendor.
A demon with a mask also appeared in the temple, and he used "Sasara" made by bundling bamboo to hit the worshipers' backs to get rid of the trouble.
According to Ishite Temple, about 100,000 people visit the Setsubun Festival every year, but this is expected to be about one-tenth the number of 10,000 people due to the influence of the new corona.
A woman in her 60s in Matsuyama said, "I asked for my health carefully. It feels good to go out after a long time."
Toshio Kato, chief priest of Ishite Temple, said, "We held the event while thinking about infection control. I think it is important to have the feeling of holding hands not only with yourself but also with people who are in trouble due to the corona sickness." I was talking.
Setsubun Shinto ritual at Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine in Wakayama
At Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, a World Heritage Site in Nachikatsuura Town, Wakayama Prefecture, Shinto rituals and bean-sowing were held on the 2nd using traditional apotropaic magic.
Every year at Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, Shinto rituals are held according to the method of warding off evil, which is said to have been handed down from the Heian period to Setsubun.
On the 2nd, the staff of the shrine wearing a demon mask struck the stone steps leading to the main shrine with bamboo while yelling "safety in the house" and "life extension".
After that, when the priest struck the target with the word "oni" about 15 meters away, the people who gathered applauded.
Then, about 50 people, including priests and locals, sowed beans with a shout, "Oni is outside, Fuku is inside," and prayed for a year without illness.
This is to prevent the infection of the new coronavirus, so I tried not to speak too much when sowing beans.
Kumano Nachi Taisha's man, Hiroshi Sannomiya, said, "It's a setsubun event to get rid of evil spirits. We held a festival to get rid of the plague. We made a wish while taking measures against infection, such as keeping a distance when attending. I got it. "