A Seasonal Story: Oni (Demons / Ogres)

Until Setsubun, our café customers will receive a small bag of Setsubun beans—edible roasted soybeans—as a gift. This offer is available while supplies last.
Inside the salon, you’ll find four oni masks. See if you can spot them all!

What is Setsubun?
Setsubun is the day before Risshun, the traditional beginning of spring in the old Japanese calendar.
On this day, people perform a ritual to drive away oni—evil demons, often imagined as horned ogres, symbolizing illness, injury, and bad fortune—and to invite happiness into their homes.
The traditional chant is:
“Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!”
(The oni out! Good fortunes in!)

Japanese residential neighborhoods are usually very quiet, just like our place. On most days, shouting loudly might earn you a warning from the police. But on this evening alone, it’s perfectly acceptable to step outside at dusk and call out, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!”
Your neighbors will simply smile and think, “Ah, it’s Setsubun.”

Winter has reached its coldest peak. Let’s chase away the oni and welcome spring with renewed energy and good health.