On the third day of Setsubun, the annual bean-throwing event was held at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple in Chiba Prefecture, with participants including NHK Taiga drama performers and sumo wrestlers.
Bean-throwing at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple is said to have begun in the Edo period to pray for a bountiful harvest, and many celebrities participate every year.
This year, in addition to sumo ozeki Toyo Shoryu and Komusubi Takayasu, Yuriko Yoshitaka, who plays the main character Murasaki Shikibu in NHK's taiga drama "Hikaru Kimi e," and Yu Emoto, who plays Fujiwara Michinaga, participated. We threw beans all at once from the stage in front of the main hall.
The bean-throwing at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple is characterized by repeating only ``Fuku wa Uchi'' (Fuku wa Uchi) without saying ``Oni wa Soto'', as it is said that even demons will change their minds in front of the main image, Fudo Myoo.
When the beans were scattered, the crowds of people gathered at the temple grounds stretched out their hands in hopes of seizing happiness for the year ahead.
On the 3rd, a total of over 1,200 kg of soybeans and peanuts will be sown, and approximately 50,000 people are expected to visit.