Setsubun Bean-throwing Ceremony held at Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple in Chiba Prefecture; Sumo Wrestler Hoshoryu Attends as Special Guest

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Sumo wrestler Hoshoryu, second from left, tosses beans into the air for luck during this year’s setsubun ceremony in Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, on Sunday.

Hoshoryu, who has just been promoted to sumo’s highest rank of yokozuna, was one of the special guests for the ceremony.

This year’s ceremony was also to pray for a fast reconstruction of the areas devastated by last year’s Noto Peninsula Earthquake. In light rainfall, worshippers stretched out their arms to grab the tossed beans.