   thumb|a supermarket shelf with masks, roasted soybeans and other materials for the festival.  is the day before the beginning of spring in japan. the name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the spring setsubun, properly called risshun () celebrated yearly on february 3 as part of the . in its association with the lunar new year, spring setsubun can be and was previously thought of as a sort of new year's eve, and so was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. this special ritual is called  (literally "bean scattering"). setsubun has its origins in , a chinese custom introduced to japan in the eighth century. ==mamemaki== the custom of mamemaki first appeared in the muromachi period. it is usually performed by the toshiotoko () of the household (the male who was born on the corresponding animal year on the chinese zodiac), or else the male head of the household. roasted soybeans (called ) are thrown either out the door or a
Buddhist_festivals February_observances Festivals_in_Japan Spring_holidays