Uploaded April 2016 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Setsubun, the day before spring, is celebrated on February 3rd each year. Heian Shrine is one of many sites in Kyoto that holds an event on this day. The festival begins in the inner sanctum, where priests perform rites. A recreation of the Heian period Daina no Gi ritual is held in the courtyard. This ritual was held at the Imperial Palace to cleanse misfortune. The ritual begins with an invocation before the altars. A warrior fires arrows in the cardinal directions to erect a sacred barrier. Another warrior symbolically cuts bad ties with a "sword". Hōsōshi the demon queller leads a procession around the courtyard. Oni (demons/ogres) represent the misfortune people are trying to cleanse. A troupe of oni appear to make an assault on the shrine. At the Daigokuden stage, the oni perform the Oni no Mai dance. Shrine parishioners throw roasted soybeans to chase the oni out. They chant "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" ("bad luck out, good luck in"). Crowds gather in the hopes of catching a pack of lucky beans. Some people eat the beans or use them at home to celebrate Setsubun. A few local maiko and geiko also help with the mamemaki (bean throwing). The last part of the ceremony is an ohitaki shinji fire ritual. Priests toss hitakigushi (sticks with prayers written on them) into the fire. Priests read a Shinto prayer to conclude the Heian Shrine Setsubun-sai.
For details and more on this event, check out our website:
discoverkyoto.com/event-calendar/february/setsubun-sai-heian-jingu
Setsubun, the day before spring, is celebrated on February 3rd each year. Heian Shrine is one of many sites in Kyoto that holds an event on this day. The festival begins in the inner sanctum, where priests perform rites. A recreation of the Heian period Daina no Gi ritual is held in the courtyard. This ritual was held at the Imperial Palace to cleanse misfortune. The ritual begins with an invocation before the altars. A warrior fires arrows in the cardinal directions to erect a sacred barrier. Another warrior symbolically cuts bad ties with a "sword". Hōsōshi the demon queller leads a procession around the courtyard. Oni (demons/ogres) represent the misfortune people are trying to cleanse. A troupe of oni appear to make an assault on the shrine. At the Daigokuden stage, the oni perform the Oni no Mai dance. Shrine parishioners throw roasted soybeans to chase the oni out. They chant "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" ("bad luck out, good luck in"). Crowds gather in the hopes of catching a pack of lucky beans. Some people eat the beans or use them at home to celebrate Setsubun. A few local maiko and geiko also help with the mamemaki (bean throwing). The last part of the ceremony is an ohitaki shinji fire ritual. Priests toss hitakigushi (sticks with prayers written on them) into the fire. Priests read a Shinto prayer to conclude the Heian Shrine Setsubun-sai.
For details and more on this event, check out our website:
discoverkyoto.com/event-calendar/february/setsubun-sai-heian-jingu
![Kyoto Festival: Spring Ogre Purification (Oni Yarai Shinji) [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S2rP3lPs7XE/mqdefault.jpg "Kyoto Festival: Spring Ogre Purification (Oni Yarai Shinji) [4K]
Setsubun marks the day before spring with various traditions meant to drive away evil spirits/bad luck and cleanse the home and family for the coming year. Shrines and temples around Japan hold special festivals for the public to come together and participate as a community, and several of these festivals are quite famous. One place you can go to take part in Setsubun is Iwashimizu Hachimangū on Mt. Otokoyama in Yawata City just south of Kyoto.
Though Setsubun festivals are commonly held on February 3rd no matter what day of the week the date falls on, Iwashimizu Hachimangū holds their Oni Yarai Shinji (Ogre Banishing Ritual) on the Sunday before in order to allow people of all ages to attend more easily. Held twice on the day at 1pm and then again at 2pm, the Oni Yarai Shinji consists of three main parts: Shinto purification rituals, an attack on the shrine by oni (ogres), and the distribution of fukumame (lucky beans). A procession of shrine priests, priestesses, and related guests make their way to the stage in front of the main sanctuary, where the head priest performs various purification rituals. After using a peach branch bow to symbolically fire arrows in the cardinal direction and this years lucky direction, as well as a purification with a sword made of peach tree branch, four oni, two green and two red, make an appearance. Growling and intimidating the crowds along the way, the oni make a comic assault on the shrine stage only to be dramatically beaten back by beans thrown at them along with shouts of oni yarō (drive out the ogres!). Once the oni make their retreat, the crowds gather with hands reaching out high in the hopes of catching the packets of lucky beans that are then thrown their way.
In addition to the two Oni Yarai Shinji rituals, packets of fukumame and arrows blessed by miko priestesses performing kagura dances can be purchased throughout the day.")
![Kyoto Event: Beautiful Poetry Gathering at Kamigamo Shrine (Kamo Kyokusui no En) [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SITk6LVYl0Q/mqdefault.jpg "Kyoto Event: Beautiful Poetry Gathering at Kamigamo Shrine (Kamo Kyokusui no En) [4K]
In the style of lavish poetry parties held during the Heian period, Kamigamo Shrine is host to the Kamo Kyokusui no En each year at 13:00 on the second Sunday in April. Based on a particular event from the shrines history, hosted by Priest Shigeyasu in 1182, the Kamo Kyokusui no En is held in a winding stream garden in the shrines southeast grounds, the vibrant spring moss and shrine hall decorated with crimson umbrellas and sprigs of flowers. These days, the event is presided over by the Saiō-dai, a woman representing unmarried imperial princesses who historically served as honorary shrine priestesses. Five poets, four from the Reizei-ke Shigure-tei Bunko organization and one selected by contest submission, arrange themselves along the stream and receive the poetry theme, 2016s being hana wo matsu, (waiting on flowers). As young children guide small boats of sake through the water the poets compose poems and enjoy a drink. The final poems the poets select are later read aloud in chorus in the shrine hall, dedicated to the kami deities.
To see more of Kamigamo Shrine and how to get there, check out our page:
https://www.discoverkyoto.com/places-go/kamigamo-jinja/")
![Places to Go: Iwashimizu Hachimangū [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VlvfBZVQh_Y/mqdefault.jpg "Places to Go: Iwashimizu Hachimangū [4K]
Located in the neighboring city of Yawata, Iwashimizu Hachimangū is a large shrine complex on top of Mt. Otokoyama that allows visitors to experience nature and Shinto removed from the crowds that can be encountered in Kyoto proper. With a history over a thousand years old, Iwashimizu Hachimangū is one of only four remaining examples of the Hachiman-zukuri architecture style that involves the skillful combination of different structures and their roofs that look from the outside to be wholly separate but are actually a single interior. Featuring colorful wood carvings of flora and fauna, hundreds of stone lanterns and a surprise connection to Thomas Edison, Iwashimizu Hachimangū makes for a delightful trip out of the city.")
![Kyoto Event: Takigi Noh at Heian Shrine 2019 (Day One) [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WJnci7GTLr8/mqdefault.jpg "Kyoto Event: Takigi Noh at Heian Shrine 2019 (Day One) [4K]
On June 1st and 2nd, 2019, the 70th annual Takigi Noh performance took place at Heian Shrine in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Honoring the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito, the theme for the year’s Takigi Noh was “Celebrating a New Era”. Noh is the oldest style of Japanese theater still practiced today, which makes it quite a fitting form to celebrate such a momentous occasion. Selected scenes from the plays “Heian”, “Sōshiarai Komachi”, “Shakkyō”, “Hagoromo”, and “Ema”, performed by the Kanze and Kongō schools of noh, as well as the more comedic kyōgen via “Fukube no Shin Tsutomeiri” and “Niō” performed by the Ōkura school, were performed to mark the occasion, mixing classic performance staples with rarely performed ceremonial pieces.
Takigi Noh is an event not to be missed if you find yourself in Kyoto in June, so make sure to check before you come or book your tickets in advance!
For more information and photos:
https://www.discoverkyoto.com/event-calendar/june/takigi-noh-heian-shrine/
and
http://www.kyoto-nohgaku.or.jp/kyoto-takiginoh-en/")
