Held before what is the first day of spring in the traditional Japanese calendar (risshun), Setsubun marks the end of the winter and this year is being celebrated on February 3rd, 2026 (Tuesday). Various temples and shrines will be holding their own celebrations of the holiday and information on them can be found here.

・Hakata’s main tutelary shrine, Kushida Shrine [The Great Setsubun Celebration]
・Tochoji Temple’s [Great Setsubun Celebration]
・Setsubun at Sumiyoshi Shrine
・Dazaifu Tenmangu Setsubun Festival

・Miyajidake Shrine [Evil-Warding and Fortune-Inviting Setsubun Festival]

Hakata’s main tutelary shrine, Kushida Shrine
[The Great Setsubun Celebration]

Every year many celebrants and worshippers come to Kushida Shrine to enjoy the Setsubun Festivities. At the Roumon, Kitashinmon, and Minamishinmon, there are 3 roughly 5-meter tall Otafuku masks there waiting to greet visitors. 

From the stage, men and women born in the current zodiac year and various famous celebrities from Hakata and Fukuoka will through beans as part of the mamemaki celebrations. On the day of the Great Setsubun Celebration, if one is caught by one of the red or blue oni that wander the shrine, that person is said to be purged of their bad luck.

For those interested in Kabuki theater, members of the play “February Hanagata Kabuki” at Hakataza will be present on the stage around 10:00 on February 3rd (tentative). 

[Setsubun Eve Festival]

February 2nd, 2026 (Monday) 
・11:00: Luck Welcoming Ceremony (Great Otafuku Mask Purification and passage allowed through the masks)
・17:00, 18:00: Setsubun Eve Ceremony (Onikagura dedication)

[Great Setsubun Ceremony]

February 3rd, 2026 (Tuesday) 
・9:00: Ceremony begin
・10:00 ~ 16:00 (every 30 minutes): Mamemaki (bean throwing) *At 10:00 the Hakata-za actors will participate in the mame-maki. 
・10:00 ~ 18:00 : Yaku-yoke Kaiun Prayer Festival: Prayer festival for general visitors to ward off bad luck (lucky beans, fukuyose, fuku-masu, and other lucky charms will be awarded *only for those who have undergone exorcisms to pray for good luck).

[Great Otafuku Masks]

Giant Otafuku masks will appear in three directions at the Roumon Gate, Kitashinmon Gate, and Minamishinmon Gate!
・Thursday, January 15, 2026 - Sunday, February 15, 2026 (planned)

Tochoji Temple’s [Great Setsubun Celebration]

During the festive period of Setsubun, the hexagonal Rokkakudo hall and national treasure Thousand-Armed Kannon statue are unveiled to the public in a ceremony that regularly attracts many to Tochoji Temple. 

At the mamemaki ceremony at Tochoji, not only beans but mochi and other sweets will be scattered about in little pouches as those throwing shout: “Fuku-ha-uchi, Oni-ha-soto!” meaning “Luck within, evil without!” from a stage set up for the occasion. 

We hope you will come to witness this traditional ceremony at one of Fukuoka’s most venerated temples. 
*The seven lucky gods will appear solely on the 3rd.

Setsubun Festival

February 2nd, 2026 (Monday) 
・Mamemaki (bean throwing): 13:00 ~ 16:00 (3 times at 1pm, 3pm and 4pm)
・Fukubiki (fortune drawing): 13:00 ~ 17:00

Great Setsubun Ceremony

February 3rd, 2026 (Tuesday) 
・Mamemaki (bean throwing): 10:00 ~ 16:00 (6 times: 10:00, 10:40, 12:00, 13:40, 15:00, 16:00)
・Fukubiki (fortune drawing): 10:00 ~ 17:00

What is fortune drawing?

Fortune telling on Setsubun helps bring in good fortune for the remainder of your year, with all of the fortunes bringing good luck. A wide variety of prizes connected to the Japanese gods of luck will also be made available at the event. The special prize, Ebisu Prize, and Daikokuten Prize are on a fan-shaped board with an auspicious spread, while the Otafuku Prize is a wall decoration with a Hakata doll mask attached to a rake that beckons good fortune. Let the good luck of the gods bring you success in business, personal wealth, and fortune to your family!

On either day, the fortune drawing will be held from 10:00 ~17:00.
Fukubiki tickets: 2,000 yen *Advance tickets (1,500 yen) are also available.

●Event Period: Setsubun Festival
Tochoji Temple : February 2–3, 2026
●Location: Tochoji Temple (2-4 Gokusho-machi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City)

Setsubun at Sumiyoshi Shrine

This year on February 3nd (Tuesday) Setsubun will be coming to the Sumiyoshi Shrine of Hakata in Fukuoka, said to be the first of approximately 2,129 shrines. Prayers for luck and avoidance of disasters, safety at sea, and success in sumo wrestling are made to the god that resides here. 

A guardian figure with 4 golden eyes known as a housoushi comes wielding a shield and spear, and with the power to banish illness in the form of a “peach bow” and “reed arrow” chases away demons in a ritual called oniyarai (demon chasing). Following the demon-chasing ritual, mamemaki, or bean throwing, is carried out from 11:00 every hour or so until 16:00.  

Sumiyoshi Shrine Setsubun Schedule

February 3, 2026 (Tuesday) 11:00 - 16:30
Setsubun Festival (Ceremony of Oniyarai) 11:00 a.m.
Bean-throwing event (Kaguraden) 11:00 - 16:00 (every hour)

Lucky Lottery 11:00 - 16:30

Please receive a “Lucky Masu box” (800 yen for the first prize) if you wish to participate in the event. The event will end when all the lucky prizes are gone.

●Event Period: Setsubun Festival
Sumiyoshi Shrine: February 3, 2026
●Location: Sumiyoshi Shrine (3-1-51 Sumiyoshi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City)

Dazaifu Tenmangu Setsubun Festival

For over 1,100 years, the god of learning, culture and arts, and warding off of evil has been enshrined and worshipped at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. For this reason, on Setsubun a ritual to ward off evil is carried out. On the day of Setsubun, a bean throwing ritual is held to drive away demons and invite in good fortune.

The Setsubun Evil-Warding Ceremony

February 3nd (Tuesday), 2026 at 10:30
Location: Temporary shrine
The general public is welcome to attend.

Mamemaki Ritual

The bean-throwing ritual will be held at Tenjin Square after the ceremony at 10:30 a.m. in the temporary hall. In the afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (Mamemaki ritual only)
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, around 11:00 a.m. / 2:00 p.m.

 

Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine is undergoing a major renovation of the main shrine, an important cultural property, for the first time in 124 years over a period of about three years starting from May 2023.

≫For details, please click here.