March 20 we celebrated Dutch Setsubun Sai in Yamakage Shinto Holland Saigu for the 44th time. After two years of lockdown restrictions we were able to welcome 20 visitors to attend the ceremony, while many other people attended the first part of the ceremony online. With the growing awareness that our known world is facing a turning point, the need for an ancient ritual that keeps balance with nature is also becoming an urgent matter. Therefore, we make available an edited version of the livestream. This abridged version highlights purification rituals and "setsubun kigan norito", the prayer to welcome spring and pray for harmony with nature. Setsubun Sai is a popular ceremony in Japan, where people flock to the jinja in order to grab the soybeans that are thrown by people born in the year of tiger. "Mame maki", the throwing of beans, originated from the times that a kidnapping monster was expelled by a wise man, throwing beans and shouting "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" (monsters out, fortune in). In order to attract a younger public, some jinja do not throw soybeans, but candy bars. As we think it is not nice to exclude other so-called bad beings from this ceremony, we only shout "fuku wa uchi" (fortune in). Setsubun Kigan Norito (3'40") is recited in Dutch.

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