Asian Studies Students,
While you are preparing for the start of the second week of the spring semester, in Japan today people are celebrating Setsubun (literally, "seasonal division"), a festival held on February 2, 3, or 4--one day before the start of spring in the Japanese lunar calendar.
In Japanese households people perform the ritual of throwing roasted beans while shouting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (Devils/evil out, good luck in).
The ritual is also performed at Japanese Buddhist temples, where celebrities, including kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers, often participate by tossing beans from a stage to a crowd of spectators below.
Another tradition is to eat Eho-maki sushi rolls, while facing the luck direction of the year (Year of the Snake).
For more details, see: