Setsubun Festival

On 22. January, as well as on 3. February, four of our students were part of the Setsubun Festival. The Setsubun Festival is a New Year festivity where people throw beans to keep the Oni, Devils, away. After New Year it is common for some shop owners to hire temples assistance to bless their business for the coming business year.
For this occasions the Tochoji Temple needed 10 people to full fill the ceremony of the goddess and the Oni. This task is often given to foreigners. Therefor they asked at Kyushu University to find ten foreign people for the job. Of these 10 People 7 would play the role of goddesses, two being Onis and one would take the role of the villager. The general task of the goddess is to watch and observe until the ceremony is over.
in the meantime, the Onis run into the the shops that wants blessing and scream through the aisles , whilst the employees throw beans at the devils to ward the evil out of their shops. Once this has happened the villager comes into the store, baring the winner, the shop owner, a gift.
On the first day 4 of our students went with the temple to many different places to bless them in this traditional way.
They also met the Major of Fukuoka and the governor of Fukuoka-ken and will be seen in the News. It was a wonderful experience for everyone and we all enjoyed it.