#setsubun

My contribution to gladhands amazing Follow The Schedule calendar project

In February there’s the Japanese holiday Setsubun which marks the begin of spring and involves chasing onis away by throwing beans at them

The style i was trying to imitate here was ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese art pieces, specifically woodblock prints

This was an incredible collab and I’m looking forward to joining more in the future owo

Some extra content:

Last up in my set of designs for monster girl themed stickers. Finishing off the set with a buff oni for a late Setsubun.

As with most of these, there's a saucier topless version over on my patreon, and in addition to that I'm currently running a poll to decide which of the designs I actually take to print. Check it out!

Today is Setsubun 📅 May everyone spend a healthy and happy year ahead♪

Setsubun is one of the traditional Japanese miscellaneous seasonal festivals, marking the day before the beginning of each season's official start (Risshun [Beginning of Spring], Rikka [Beginning of Summer], Risshu [Beginning of Autumn], and Ritto [Beginning of Winter]). The term "Setsubun" literally means "the division of seasons." It was believed that evil spirits (oni) emerged during seasonal transitions, prompting rituals to ward them off through exorcism ceremonies. These were state-sanctioned court events; the "Engishiki" records that colored earth figurines of oxen and children were displayed at each gate of the Ōdairy palace complex.

In common practice, people perform the custom of throwing roasted soybeans while shouting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("Demons out! Luck in!"), followed by eating an amount of beans equal to one's age plus one for protection against misfortune. Additionally, they display evil-repellent items like holly wreaths with dried fish at entrances. These practices vary regionally and between different shrines.