Gautama Buddha, was born in 563 BC in the gardens of
Lumbini, a city in Nepal to the Indian king Shuddhodana and his wife Queen
Maya. He was known as Prince Siddhartha and led a prince’s life, married
Princess Yashodhara and had a son Rahul. At the age of 29, while on a trip in
his kingdom, he was deeply moved by the sights of poverty and illness of his
subjects and he renounced his princely life to lead the life of a mendicant. At
the age of 35 he attained enlightenment while meditating under a Peepal tree in
the Indian city of Gaya. He came to be known as Gautama Buddha, the Awakened
one and his preachings came to be known as Buddhism and his followers
Buddhists. Buddhism then spread to various countries in East Asia and the local
influence led to the development of various branches of Buddhism.
Buddhism came to Japan through China and Korea
somewhere in 6th century AD. I have written about Buddhism's influence on Japanese culture and society earlier, so am not going in to
the details this time.
Buddha’s birthday is celebrated in most east Asian
countries on the 8th day of the 4th month according to
the Chinese lunar calendar. As such the date varies every year. However, in
Japan it is celebrated either on the 8th of April or 8th
of May. Japan follows the Gregorian calendar and the fourth month of the
Chinese lunar calendar is translated to either April or May and hence either of
these two dates are chosen by the Buddhist temples in Japan to mark Buddha’s
birthday. The first celebration was reportedly held in 606 in Nara’s Asuka-dera.
Buddha’s birthday is known by the name of Hana Matsuri,
which literally means “Flower Festival. Perhaps this is due to the fact that
the day falls in spring, a season when a variety of flowers are blooming all
over Japan. The celebration is known by a variety of other names – “Kanbutsu-e”,
“Goutan-e”, “Busshou-e”, “Yokubutsu-e”, “Hanaeshiki-e” etc. Buddha’s birthday ,however, is not a national holiday
in Japan and is only marked by rituals and ceremonies in Buddhist temples.
Today I attended the Hana Matsuri at my daughter’s
kindergarten. She attends a kindergarten which is managed by a Buddhist temple
in Iwaki. It was an interesting experience for me. The children arrived at the
temple and prayed. The priest then addressed the gathering , explaining the
significance of the day.
They then changed into colourful attire, not the
regular kimono’s but dresses which are usually worn by priests and shrine
maidens.
After this they performed a dance in front of the temple.
After the dance, they were led to a small adjoining
building, which had a small prayer hall with an altar.
In front of the altar ,
small flower decorated altars, known as “ Hana mido” were placed.
Inside the
Hana-mido, small statue of Buddha was placed in a shallow metal bowl. The statue represents the
infant Buddha. It is believed that immediately after his birth, Buddha raised
and took seven steps forward and while pointing his right hand to the heavens,
he is said to have proclaimed – “Tenjou tenga yuiga dokuson” which means “ I am honoured in heaven and on earth”. It is
also believed that the infant Buddha was sprinkled with perfume by the dragon kings “Ryuu” and
also a gently perfumed nectar rain had bathed infant Buddha. As a re-creation
of these beliefs, the Kanbutsu-e ceremony was performed wherein the children
poured “Ama-cha” a sweet tea prepared with hydrangea leaf.
After this ceremony, the children
posed for a commemorative photograph in their colourful attire.
Nice post, Shreya. Found it very interesting! I am doing a presentation on Japanese festivals and this was a very nice thing to read!
ReplyDelete