The Roving Ronin Report

Setsubun at Nagata Shrine in Kobe. Setsubun is a spring exorcism ritual on February 3rd which used to be on the old Chinese New Year's Eve. Bad luck in the form of devils (oni) are driven away with a handful of tossed beans. At Nagata Shrine though the oni are actually the good guys and they drive away evil with fire and sword. The men who are to perform the ceremony prepare themselves with fasting and purification rituals such as misogi. Misogi is plunging into cold water to cleanse one's self body and soul. Tsuina Shiki or Oniyari is the exorcism ritual to drive away evil and disaster. Nagata Shrine is unique in that oni perform the ritual. This particular ritual is believed to be over 500 years old. These two particular oni are known for their healing properties. They will touch their temples then lay their hands on a person to heal them and protect them. Sickness is part of the evil that oni drive away.  In olden days sicknesses was just a...

Setsubun is a Japanese Spring Ritual where Japanese drive away bad luck and evil. At a small shrine in Matsuyama, Shikoku they perform a sacred dance known as kagura which depicts an old legend of Susanoo no Mikoto the Japanese god of Storms fighting a giant evil serpent Yamata no Orochi. Susanoo no Mikoto is the Japanese god of storms and is known as the Impetus Male for his erratic behavior. He caused great distress on the Heavenly Plains by causing his sister, Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess to flee into a cave thus plunging all into darkness. The other gods were able to get Amaterasu out of the cave and bring sunlight back. The gods decided to exile the troublesome Susanoo to the underworld of the dead Yomi. On his way to Yomi, Susanoo encountered two earthy deities who were in distress. A great 8-headed serpent known as Yamata no Orochi devoured their daughters and he was returning to consume their last one. Susanoo decided to save their daughter. In the kagura ve...