NARITA, Chiba -- A scaled-down setsubun ceremony was held at Naritasan Shinshoji temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, on Tuesday, marking the day before the beginning of spring according to the lunisolar calendar.
Sumo wrestlers and actors usually participate in the annual event at the temple, throwing dried soybeans into the crowd to drive away evil spirits and hopefully bring good luck. However, no such famous figures were present this year, as the event was scaled back due to the coronavirus crisis.
Instead, men who were born in the Year of the Ox, this year's Chinese zodiac sign, threw out the beans. This was the first time since 1969 -- when the event at the temple took its current form -- that celebrities did not participate.
The venue in front of the temple's main hall, which is usually crowded with 50,000 to 60,000 worshipers every year, was sparsely populated.
There is a legend at the temple that even demons will be converted by the mercy of Fudo Myoo, the main deity of the temple. Therefore, the men who were throwing the beans only chanted, "fuku wa uchi" （bring in good luck), while skipping the accompanying phrase "oni wa soto" (drive out bad luck).
Setsubun usually falls on Feb. 3, but for the first time in 124 years, it fell on Feb. 2, according to the lunisolar calendar.
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