Oni go away (Singapore)

Tomorrow (Feb 3) is Setsubun in Japan. Males wear a demon or Oni (demon) mask. Others will throw roasted soyabean on them and say “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi” which means Oni(demon) goes away and fuku (good luck) comes in. From Wikipedia

The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat soybeans, one for each year of one’s life, and in some areas, one for each year of one’s life, plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come. In the Heian era, a famous Buddhist monk was said to have driven away oni by throwing beans.

We bought the Oni mask from the Meidi-ya Japanese supermarket here in SIngapore.

The Oni also contains a packet of irimame (pan fried soybean) that others can throw on you.

Now I am Oni. Where are the children? Come throw irimame at me.

Update: February 2019. Ended up around the Oni season in a supermarket in Osaka.