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Japan’s Setsubun Bean-Throwing Bazooka is so powerful demons won’t dare come near you

Taking Japanese customs of demon-vanquishing to impressive new levels.

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It’s time to throw beans and banish demons! A look at family Setsubun traditions in Japan

From ogre teachers to desserts in the dark, the SoraNews24 team shares their Setsubun styles.

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Haunted homicidal hide and seek in a rugby stadium coming to Osaka this summer

You’re it!

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Testing Amazon Japan’s best and worst Japanese demon costumes【Photos】

We get ready for Japan’s Setsubun celebration with the highs and lows of oni fashion.

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Japan’s child-eating ogres prepare COVID-19 preventative measures for upcoming New Year’s Eve

Unfortunately, kids in northern Japan don’t get a pass this year from the UNESCO-recognized, fearsome namahage.

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Visiting the burial site of the head of Japan’s most evil demon in Kyoto

Don’t worry, our writer brought a Pikachu with him for protection.

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Chiba police looking for man threatening to kill kids who don’t play tag with him

Authorities keeping a close eye on parks in Narashina City for the repeat offender.

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Sushiro celebrates a traditional Japanese holiday with this…sushi thing

As odd as it looks, it actually makes a lot of sense for Setsubun.

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Clip-on oni horns from Japan will have your next cosplay looking devilishly cute 【Pics】

Hair accessories add a dash of cute yet fierce culture to your outfit.

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Japanese cats channel their inner demon during the chilly month of February

February is a hard month to face, so why not put on a mask and greet it looking like something else?

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Red Oni and Blue Oni penguins at Tohoku Safari Park bring good luck and cuteness to guests

Who knew that demons could be this adorable?

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Japan has a custom of shouting “Out with the demons!” in early February, but all we can say is “Awwwwwww!”

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Demon pants and dog butts coming soon to Japanese mouths

If Sunkus’ Red-Oni-Pants-Lookin’ Bread and Pom Pom Purin’s Purin Purin! Butt Cakes are any indication, 2016 is shaping up to be a great year for baked goods. 

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Demons, beans, and giant sushi rolls – It could only be Setsubun!

When you really think about them, even the traditions and practices that we each grew up with and seem perfectly normal are kind of odd. Easter, once solely the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, now sees us telling children that a benevolent rabbit came in the night to leave them chocolate eggs. Christmas takes us even further into the world of fantasy as kids grow up thinking that a magical man who lives in the North Pole works a team of elves all year round to make presents for them, delivering said gifts across the world in a single night via flying woodland beasts, despite the man himself likely having respiratory problems owing to his XXL frame.

Although Japan doesn’t really do Christmas, it does have a plenty of its own traditions and yearly celebrations, and it just so happens that today is one of them. Setsubun, or the spring bean-throwing festival, sees children yelling at and peppering fictional demons with handfuls of roasted beans, and families sitting down to eat enormous pieces of maki, or roll, sushi, often adhering to peculiar local traditions as they do.

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World’s largest game of tag to be held in Gunma Prefecture

Tag is a childhood game loved worldwide although known by different names depending on the region, and Japan is no exception. Here the game is known as oni gokko (demon play) and follows the same rules aside for the “it” person being called oni, which translates to a demon but is probably more akin to an ogre.

If you happen to be in the Gunma area this month and want to relive some childhood fun playing a classic game, Gunma University and J.League soccer team Thespa Kustasu Gunma are working to set up a Guinness World Record breaking game of Oni Gokko.

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