The largest festival of the Omoto sect, drawing more than 15,000 visitors from all over Japan. From evening on February 3 to February 4, the great purification rite of Setsubun is held. After each person-shaped paper cutout (a stand-in for a person) has been ritually purified, it is floated on the Yura River. The paper figures are released toward the river and flutter down, then are swept away by its current, creating a dreamlike spectacle. On February 4, people chant “Demons inside, good fortune inside” (rather than the traditional “Demons outside, good fortune inside”) while scattering beans to celebrate the fact that Omoto’s founder was possessed by Kuninotokotachi no Mikoto (eternal god of the land), who had been outcast as a “demon god”