Away with you, devil child, I say AWAY

So today is Setsubun, one day before the start of spring (although you wouldn't know it, it's been foul weather all day!). For many centuries, the people of Japan have been performing rituals with the purpose of chasing away evil spirits at the start of spring.

In modern days, the most commonly performed setsubun ritual is the throwing of roasted beans around your house and at temples and shrines. When throwing the beans, you are supposed to shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("Devils out, happiness in"). It is custom for the head male in the household to dress up as the devil, and everyone else to throw the beans at him, and then outside and inside the house. Afterwards you should pick up and eat the number of beans, which corresponds to your age.

Well, I didn't do any of this. I was less bothered about chasing away evil spirits than I was trying to get a good shot of the beans. This was the best I could do. For the record though, I was never going to eat 25 beans. My floor is actually (and unusually) clean at the moment, but that's beside the point. It's still disgusting.