By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Tsuina-shiki demon ritual, Yoshida ShrineTuesday 2 February 2027
- Setsubun itselfWednesday 3 February 2027
- Karo-sai bonfire, Yoshida ShrineWednesday 3 February 2027
- Where
- Yoshida Shrine
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- February
- Dates
- Move by a day or two each year
Setsubun falls on the eve of the first day of spring in the old calendar, which is set astronomically, so it slips by a day in some years. The Tsuina-shiki runs from 18:00 on the eve and the Karo-sai bonfire from 23:00 on the day itself.
Setsubun is the day winter is driven out, and Kyoto marks it four different ways within a couple of miles of each other. One shrine does it as a vast street fair with a late bonfire. One does it with Kyoto’s geisha throwing beans from a stage. A temple does it as a demon dance. A fourth stages a silent comic play. These are not variations on a theme, they are different evenings, and every one of them is free.
What Setsubun actually is
The eve of spring in the old lunar calendar, and in practice a national ritual for driving out bad luck. Households throw roasted soybeans out of the door, shouting for demons to leave and fortune to come in, then eat one bean for each year of their age. Shrines and temples do the same thing at scale, with costumed demons to be driven off and beans thrown into the crowd. Kyoto does it at a scale nowhere else matches, because several major sites run their own version simultaneously in the same quarter of the city.
Where to watch Setsubun
- Yoshida Shrine, for the sheer size of it. Eight hundred stalls line the approach and fill the grounds, and something close to half a million people come through across the two days. The demon ritual on the eve is a proper piece of theatre: a figure in a four-eyed mask drives off red, blue and yellow demons with a spear, and courtiers finish them with reed arrows. Late on the following night the shrine burns a year of accumulated charms and talismans in an enormous fire pot in front of the great torii gate. That fire is the thing to stay for.
- Yasaka Shrine, for the geisha. Geiko and maiko, which is what Kyoto calls its geisha and their apprentices, come over from the Gion districts to dance on the shrine stage and then throw beans into the crowd, across several sessions over both days. It is the most photographed Setsubun in Kyoto and the easiest to fit around other plans, because it sits at the end of Shijo-dori in the middle of Higashiyama.
- Rozan-ji, for the demon dance. A small temple with a serious claim, standing on the site of Murasaki Shikibu’s home. Three demons in red, green and black break up the prayers and are driven out by an exorcist with a bow, after which monks hand out beans and rice cakes. It runs in the afternoon on the day itself, in a confined courtyard, and it is the most atmospheric of the four.
- Mibu-dera, for the comedy. The temple performs its own centuries-old mimed drama, played without speech to drum and flute, and the Setsubun piece is broad, funny and repeated through the afternoon. Nothing else in the city is remotely like it.
- Any neighbourhood shrine at all. Every local shrine does something, most with a handful of stalls and nobody from outside the district. If the big four sound like too much, the small version is the pleasanter evening and costs you nothing but a walk.
Tickets and what it costs
There are no tickets and no entry fee. Money goes on food from the stalls, which at Yoshida is half the reason to go rather than an add-on, and on charms and arrows bought at the shrines to keep for the year. The talismans people bring to the bonfire were bought the year before, and that is the piece of context which makes the fire make sense. It is a year of accumulated luck being closed out, not a bonfire laid on for visitors.
Official information and booking: www.yoshidajinja.com
Getting there
All four sit in the eastern half of the city and none is far from the others. Yoshida Shrine is behind the university, a walk from Demachiyanagi on the Keihan line or a short bus ride up Higashi-Ichijo. Yasaka is at the end of Shijo-dori, served by Gion-Shijo on the Keihan line. Rozan-ji is near the Imperial Palace and Mibu-dera is west of the centre near Shijo-Omiya. Buses are the obvious link between them and they are slow on these two days, so allow more time than the map suggests or plan to walk.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Treating the four as interchangeable
They are not. One is a street fair with a bonfire, one is a dance performance, one is a demon dance in a small courtyard and one is a silent comic play. Read what each does before choosing, because visitors regularly end up at the one that suits them least.
Leaving Yoshida before the fire
The bonfire happens very late on the second night and much of the crowd has gone home after the stalls. It is the most striking thing that happens across the whole two days, and worth rearranging the evening around.
Going to Yasaka expecting to catch beans
The throwing is brief, the crowd in front of the stage is deep, and the good positions are taken well before each session starts. Come for the dancing, which is the real attraction, and treat anything you catch as a bonus.
Underestimating a Kyoto winter evening
This is the coldest stretch of the year and these are outdoor events that run late, in one case close to midnight. Standing still in a shrine courtyard for two hours is a very different proposition from walking around in the same weather.
Other Kyoto events
Frequently asked questions
Which Setsubun should you go to in Kyoto?
Yoshida Shrine for scale, stalls and the bonfire. Yasaka to see geiko and maiko perform. Rozan-ji for the demon dance in a small courtyard. Mibu-dera for the silent comic drama. They run across the same two days, they are all free, and the good moments at each fall at different hours.
What happens at Setsubun?
Roasted soybeans are thrown to drive out bad luck and invite good fortune in, at home and at shrines, usually with someone in a demon mask to chase off. People eat one bean for each year of their age. Kyoto shrines and temples stage much larger versions with rituals particular to each site.
Is Setsubun always on the same date?
Almost, but not quite. It falls on the eve of the first day of spring in the old calendar, which is fixed astronomically rather than by convention, so it slips by a day in some years. Check rather than assume if you are booking travel tightly around it.
Is the Yoshida Shrine bonfire worth staying up for?
Yes. It is a very large fire of the previous year of charms and talismans, lit in front of the main torii late at night, and nothing else in the Kyoto Setsubun calendar stays with you like it. Most of the crowd has thinned by the time it is lit.
Do you need to book anything?
No. Everything is free and unticketed, including the maiko performances at Yasaka. The only thing worth planning is which sites you go to and in what order, because each one peaks at a different time of day.
Is this a bad time of year to be in Kyoto?
It is the coldest and quietest month, which also makes it the cheapest and the least crowded at the major temples. Setsubun is the reason to pick the start of it specifically. If you dislike being cold that is the real trade-off, rather than anything being shut.
Sources
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.