Preparing for Spring in a Frozen World

Setsubun, Mibu Kyogen, and a Land That Quietly Straightens One’s Posture

Here in Ohio, a record-breaking cold wave and heavy snowfall have settled in.Outside my window, a white silence stretches across the landscape, as though the pulse of life has briefly paused.

In the midst of this extreme winter, my thoughts turn to a Japanese seasonal custom: Setsubun.Held in early February, around the time when the traditional calendar marks the arrival of Risshun, the beginning of spring, this day has long been regarded as the moment when winter begins to yield to the next season.

The cold, of course, remains.Yet people decide, quietly and collectively, that spring has begun.This small act of anticipation is one of the subtle depths of Japan’s way of keeping time.

A Gesture That Gently Moves the Air

Setsubun is often associated with mamemaki—scattering roasted soybeans inside and outside the home, accompanied by a brief call.Known through a familiar wordplay as an act of warding off misfortune, it has been passed down less as a formal religious rite than as a simple seasonal practice of daily life.

In a time when bodies draw inward against the cold and the air grows still,small movements and sounds introduce a momentary disturbance to winter’s quiet.

Setsubun may simply be the annual occasion on which this gesture—repeated over generations—is gently remembered.

Drawing the Boundary Before the Landscape Changes

The word Setsubun means “the division of seasons.”Even while the scenery remains unmistakably winter, the calendar draws a line and names what comes next.

Rather than waiting for the environment to transform,one quietly adjusts an inner sense of time first.

This modest but steady decision has long been part of the lived knowledge of those who endured long winters.

Another Form of Setsubun in Kyoto

At Mibu-dera Temple in Kyoto, around the time of Setsubun, a masked silent drama known as Mibu Kyogen is performed as a temple offering.For nearly seven hundred years, these plays have been enacted without spoken words, relying only on gesture and the rhythm of drums.

Many of the performances depict human pride, desire, and carelessness—visible forms of misfortune—which are ultimately released and set aside.

Rather than preaching,they invite quiet recognition through laughter and silence.

In Kyoto at Setsubun, alongside the scattering of beans,another way of shifting the atmosphere continues to breathe.

Another Memory Held by the Land of Mibu

Some may recall another history tied to the name Mibu.In the late Edo period, this area served as the base of the Shinsengumi,a group of swordsmen tasked with maintaining order in Kyoto during the final years of the shogunate.

The wordless stage of Mibu Kyogen,and the memory of lives once lived in tension and restraint—together, they suggest that this land has long been a place whereposture is straightened before words are spoken.

Spring Begins in Silence

The frozen air of Ohio sharpens the mind with unexpected clarity.Even when the outer world remains unchanged,the inner season can quietly move ahead.

Setsubun does not deny winter, nor does it force it away.It merely turns the body slightly toward the direction from which the next light will return.

The performances at Mibu,and the silent memory held in that land,may also be understood as old forms of wisdom for making such a turn.

Spring begins without sound.And each year, we stand quietly at its threshold.

Open the Next Door