Tengu Matsuri

Let the beans fly and land where they may. Catch them if you can. Toss them or bounce them off a demon. The more you catch the happier you will be in the coming year. In Shimokitazawa, the demons are fierce tengu and a gigantic tengu head that is paraded through the shopping district. A parade filled with the sounds of taiko drums and shouting with beans flung into the air to bring the promise of a happy and healthy year.

Setsubun is a celebration that varies across the country of Japan. The vast majority of the celebration involves beans being tossed through the air, usually at some sort of demon. In Shimokitazawa, the festival involves tengu. Tengu are famous demons in Japan know for playing pranks and pestering vain monks. Tengu are also associated with martial arts often the teachers of the founders of old martial art styles.

The long-nosed goblins of Shimokitazawa parade around the local shopping district. Every fifty meters the tengu stop and the priests and attendants toss beans in the air. People scramble to catch them. Following them is an enormous tengu with the length of an SUV. The giant tengu is navigated through narrow streets packed with people scrambling to catch happiness in the form of a bean.

Early in the day they have a celebration for children. The children wear tengu masks on their heads and parade around the neighborhood. Every fifty to one-hundred meters the parade stops and the tengu pied piper calls for them to toss their beans. Often being the target of the tossing.

The parade is conducted by the local Shinryuji temple and supported by the Shimokitazawa elementary school. This event is held every year around the Setsubun, February 3^rd and lasts for three days.

(© Robert J. Hartung III, 2010 All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)