Setsubun or 節分 is the day before the start of Spring in the Japanese calendar. The Japanese usually holds a ritual to cleanse away evil spirits and bad luck by throwing soybeans to the "oni" or "demon". In school, we held this traditional event and the students joyfully threw soybeans onto their classmates who were acting as "oni".

First day of school and the students went to Futarayama Shrine at the city center.
For Japanese, it is customary to go to the shrine during the New Year’s celebration to receive blessings and good luck for the new year. During this time also, people try to get their fortunes done through picking up a piece of paper via drawlots. Different charms with different purposes are also available to prevent bad luck.