Onita's Hat

Synopsis & Overview

The Oni child, Onita was edged out from the house he used to live on the day taking with him a hat. The outside was so cold and dark, he looked for another house but humans put hiiragi iwashi (holly and sardine head talismans) on house entrances to keep demons away and he could not get in. However, there was only one house without this talisman and without throwing the roasted soybeans. In this house, a girl and sick mother lived together. The girl kept vigil beside her mother’s bed all days and did not have enough time and money to eat meal, not to mention throwing roasted soybeans. Realizing the predicament they were in, Onita found meal from somewhere. Disguising as a man, he offered the meal he got to the girl, saying that he made too much for Setsubun. The meals he offered were sekihan and green bean dish. He then leaves to find a new place to live, leaving only his hat behind.