APRIL calendar

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. Kigo Calendar - the 12 Months .

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April - shigatsu　四月




.................... 01 .................................................................................

. April Fool's Day, All Fools' Day 四月馬鹿 .


.................... 02 .................................................................................

. Memorial Day for Enomoto Kikaku 基角忌 .


.................... 05 .................................................................................

. seimei 清明 Clear and bright .
one of the 24 solar sections 二十四節気

. seimeisai 清明祭 Seimei festival. Okinawa .


.................... 07 .................................................................................

. Osaki Hosai Memorial Day 放哉忌 .


.................... 08 .................................................................................

. Buddha's Birthday Celebrations 仏生会 .
Buddha Purnima - India

. Memorial Day for Takahama Kyoshi 虚子忌 / Chinju Ki 椿寿忌.


.................... 09 .................................................................................

. Bataan Day or Day of Valor - Philippines .


.................... 10 .................................................................................

. Arbor Day (tree day) .


.................... 11 .................................................................................

. Cherry Blossom Festival at Yoshino 吉野花会式 .


.................... 13 .................................................................................

. Memorial Day of Ishikawa Takuboku 啄木忌 .



.................... 14 .................................................................................

. Sanno Festival 山王祭 .
Hiyoshi Shrine, Otsu 日吉神社

. Ambedkar Jayanti, Memorial Day - India .

.................... 15 .................................................................................

. Memorial Day for Umewaka Maru 梅若忌 .

. Africa Day .


.................... 17 .................................................................................

International Haiku Poetry Day
- The Haiku Foundation -



.................... 18 .................................................................................

. Memorial Day for Saint Honen Hoonen-ki (Honenki) 法然忌 .



.................... 20 .................................................................................

. kokuu, koku u 穀雨 grain rain .
one of the 24 solar sections 二十四節気


.................... 21 .................................................................................

. Memorial Day for Sen no Rikyu 利休忌 .

. Yasukuni Shrine festival 靖国祭 .


.................... 22 .................................................................................

. Earth Day アースデイ .


.................... 25 .................................................................................

. ceremony for Monju Bosatsu, Kofuku-Ji 興福寺文殊会 .

. World Malaria Day . 　

. Anzac Day - Australia .


.................... 28 .................................................................................

. Memorial Day for Saint Gensei 元政忌 .


.................... 29 .................................................................................

. Showa Day 昭和の日 .
Beginning of Golden Week 黄金週間 till May 5


.................... 30 .................................................................................

. Queen's Day - Holland .
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands



.................... second Sunday

. Eating large portions of rice in Nikko 日光強飯式 .
ritual at temple Rinno-Ji 輪王寺 in Nikko


.................... last Sunday

. Sekiten Sekiten 釈奠, Confucius Festival 孔子祭 .
Sekisai 釈菜



.................... All April .................................................................................


. National Poetry Month, USA .



. WKD : April - a Haiku Month .

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. WKD : World Days in April .

. Ceremonies, festivals, rituals - April .

. Memorial Days of Famous People - April .



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For the worldwide approach to kigo,
we must differentiate between the "Haiku Season" and the natural phenomenon and human activites occuring at a certain season at a certain place.

To complicate our endeavor, we also have to deal with the Asian Lunar Calendar and the 24 seasons (periods), which were applied in Japan before the introduction of the Western Calendar, when kigo were already used in Japanese poetry.

Study the details here, please:

. The Japanese Haiku Calendar.


. Seasons beginning .

. Seasons ending .


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. WKD : the complete SAIJIKI list .

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Handa Inari Festivals Gannin

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Handa Inari Shrine Festivals
半田稲荷神社　


東京都葛飾区東金町4－28－22 Tokyo, Katsushika

Many people come here to pray for an easy delivery (anzan 安産).


The main festival is on the first Sunday in April.

The main attractins are a parade of fox masks and of
gannin boozu mendikant street performers.

They wear red robes and a read headgear and carry a red flag with the name of Handa The Fox Deity 半田の稲荷大明神. In the other hand they have a bell to ring constantly.
Thus they ward off the evil influence of the gods of illness, especially smallpox in the Edo period.
Parentw with little children give them some money and they will perform prayers for protection.
On auspicious situations they performed dances, even comic kyogen performances.




Look at many photos here
source : rekishi-roman.jp


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source :　tetsuyosie




君に代わってお参り引き受けちゃうよー
という商売の願人坊主。

On behalf of someone who can not do it himself
they perform ritual dances or visit a shrine or
recite prayers to take on the illness of a person.

source : piasi69


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gannin, ganjin　願人 street performers
..... ganninboo 願人坊
..... gannin boozu 願人坊主 mendicant monks
petitioned monks, itinerant monks,
fund- raising priests during the Tokugawa period,
even earlier in the Azuchi-Momoyama period

They started from Mount Kurama in Kyoto and from this shrine in Edo and soon were popular all over Japan, taking on illness from the people.


There is also a Kabuki play where
Bando Mitsugoro 坂東三津五郎 appears as a Gannin Bozu.


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The Actor Onoe Matsusuke I
as a Mendicant Monk (Gannin Bozu)
in the Play Keisei Ide no Yamabuki,
Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Fifth Month, 1787, c. 1787

by Katsukawa Shunko (1743-1812)
source : Art Institute Chikago


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A catfish posing for Gannin Bozu

鯰；ナマズ，願人坊主；ガンニンボウズ，
閻魔の子；エンマノコ，地蔵の子；ジゾウノコ



願人坊主の扮装をして、右手に銭錫杖、左手に扇子を持った鯰がちょぼくれ節をうたっている。鯰の体は人間のもので、腕には刺青がある。
その右側に肌が赤く、閻魔の扮装をした子供が歩いている。着物の柄は蓮の葉。左側に肌が墨色で額に白毫のある地蔵のような子供が竹馬に乗っている。竹馬の一方は、先に錫杖がついている。着物の柄は蓮の花びら。

国際日本文化研究センター
source : www.nichibun.ac.jp

The catfish has the body of a human, with a tatoo on the arm.
He holds a special stick in one hand and a red folding fan in the other.


zeni shakujoo 銭錫杖 "money stick"



A small "hand stick" 手錫杖 made from bamboo, with a split side.
Some coins with a hole are hung on a thin string. If the stick is shaken, it makes a sound like chari-chari チャリチャリ.

This stick is used when dancing to make an accompaning sound, for example the chobokure dance チョボクレ.
source :　kabuki - mitsugoro


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Ehon Hayabiki - Illustrations from Edo
画本(えほん)　早引(はやびき)　- 画本早引
葛飾北斎　Katsushika Hokusai







8 半田稲荷 Handa Inari
東京都葛飾区にある。創建は和銅とも永久年間とも。子供の疱瘡、麻疹、安産祈願の参詣が多く、江戸中期 願人坊主 という者「葛西金町半田の稲荷、疱瘡もかるい、麻疹もかるい、運授・安産御守護の神よ」と節面白く謡江戸市中から全国を謡い踊り歩いたと伝えられる。
source : ehonhayabikiue



. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) 葛飾北斎 .


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The Arts of the Gannin

Abstract
Popular religion in Tokugawa Japan (1603- 1868) was supported by the efforts of many mendicant monk-like figures who provided the populace with prayers, invocations, and talismans, as well as with dancing, music and recitations.
One of the best known types of such monk-performers was the gannin bozu, who was affiliated, at least nominally, with the Kurama temple near Kyoto.
Gannin art, remnants of which can still be found throught Japan, were highly heterogenous, some were associated with Buddhism, others with Shinto, yet others were entirely secular in nature.

Read the full text here (PDF):
source : Gerald Groemer, Yamanashi
Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 58，1999: 275-320

some vocabulary

chobokure ちょぼくれ Chobokure music
chongare ちょんがれ Chongare music

dai gori 代垢離 proxy water ablutions
dai mairi 代参り proxy pilgrimage

hifu 秘符 secret charms and amulets

Kurama gannin 鞍馬願人 Gannin from Kurama mountain

shokyoo koodan 緒経口談 explaining sutras

Sumiyoshi odori　住吉踊り Sumiyoshi dance, Osaka
... kojiki hooshi 乞食法師 beggar monks from Sumiyoshi
. WKD - Sumiyoshi dance and rice planting ritual .



sutasutaboozu, sutasuta boozu すたすた坊主 monks wearing only a string loincloth in the cold, ascets of the Edo period


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. Kurama in Kyoto 鞍馬山 .


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Things found on the way


. Inari Shrines and Amulets .


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HAIKU



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Related words

. Fox Shrine Festival (Inari Matsuri) .


Street performances 大道芸人　 daidoo geinin
. Dengaku mai 田楽舞 Dengaku dance .


. Chindonya ちんどん屋 street musician .
commercial street band


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Kofukuji Nara

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Temple Kofuku-Ji

***** Location: Nara
***** Season: See below
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

quote
Kōfuku-ji (興福寺, Kōfuku-ji)
is a Buddhist temple in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hosso(“Dharma characteristics”) sect and is one of the eight Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Hosso sect is also known as the yuishiki(“mind only”) sect. The teaching was first brought to China from India by the T'ang Dynasty monk Genjo, whose travels are well known from his journal entitled “Travels to the West". Genjo transmitted the Hosso teachings, as found in the Yuishiki-ron (“Treatise on Mind Only”), to his disciple Jion Daishi,who is considered the founder of the Hosso school in China. These doctrines were introduced to Kofukuji by the monk Genbo (d. 746), who studied in China from 716-735.

Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 by Kagami-no-Ōkimi (鏡大君), the wife of Fujiwara no Kamatari, wishing for her husbands’s recovery from illness. Its original site was in Yamashina, Yamashiro Province (present-day Kyoto). In 672, the temple was moved to Fujiwara-kyō, the first artificially planned capital in Japan, then again in 710, moved to its current place, on the east side of the newly constructed capital, Heijō-kyō, today's Nara.

Kōfuku-ji was the Fujiwara's tutelary temple, and enjoyed as much prosperty, and as long as the family did. The temple was not only an important center for the Buddhist religion, but also retained influence over the imperial government, and even by "aggressive means" in some cases. When many of the Nanto Shichi Daiji such as Tōdai-ji -declined after the move of capital to Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Kōfuku-ji kept its significance because of its connection to the Fujiwara. The temple was damaged and destroyed by civil wars and fires many times, and was rebuilt as many times as well, although finally some of the important buildings, such as two of the three golden halls, the nandaimon, chūmon and the corridor were never reconstructed and are missing today.



Tōkon-dō (East Golden Hall) (東金堂), 1425
Five-storied pagoda (五重塔, gojū-no-tō), 1426
Three-storied pagoda (三重塔, sanjū-no-tō), 1185-1274
Hoku'en-dō (North Octagonal Hall) (北円堂),1210
Nan'en-dō (South Octagonal Hall) (南円堂), 1741
Ōyūya (Bath House) (大湯屋) 1394-1427


source : Wikipedia



Kofuku-Ji, Architecture and Buddhist Sculptures
- Mark Schumacher -




The most famous statue of an Ashura is at the temple Kofuku-jiin Nara.
. Ashura, Asura (あしゅら) 阿修羅 .

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kigo for late spring

Koofukuji Monju e 興福寺文殊会 (こうふくじもんじゅえ)
ceremony for Monju Bosatsu at temple Kofuku-Ji

April 25

Children in old costumes parade around the compound.
People attend with the wish for better learning and a good career for their children.


CLICK for more photos !


Monju represents wisdom, intelligence, learning and willpower.
. Monju Bosatsu 文殊菩薩　Manjushri .


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kigo for early winter

Koofukuji hokke e 興福寺法華会 (こうふくじほっけえ)
ceremony of the Lotus Sutra at temple Kofuku-Ji

On the 6th day of the 10th lunar month (now in November)
At the South Octagonal Hall, reading the Lotus Sutra.
In memoriam of Fujiwara Uchimaro 藤原内麻呂
(756 - October 6, 812 (lunar calendar, now November 13).
He was the father of Fujiwara Fuyutsugu 藤原冬嗣 (775 - 826).



Hokkekyoo, Hokekyoo 法華経; Saddharma-pundariika-suutra


The Lotus Sutra, Hokke-kyoo　法華経、describes various deities as Bosatsu concerned with light offerings.

Jookoobutsu定光仏
Toomyoobutsu燈明仏
Niman Toomyoobutsu二萬燈明仏
Sanman Toomyoobutsu三萬燈明仏
Nichi-gatsu Toomyoobutsu日月燈明仏, the Sun and Moon Light Offering Buddhas
Myookoo Bosatsu妙光菩薩

. Light Offering Bosatsu .


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Yuima E 維摩会 (ゆいまえ) ceremony for Yuima
Koofukuji Yuima e 興福寺維摩会（こうふくじゆいまえ）
..... Joomyoo e 浄名会（じょうみょうえ）
(Jomyo is another name fro Yuima, Vimalakirti.)


From the10th to the 16th day of the 10th lunar month (now November)
Ceremonies in honor of Yuima.

Fujiwara Kamatari 藤原鎌足 named his villa in Yamashina "Yamashina Temple 山階寺 " and there begun to teach his vasalls about Yuima.
Together with
Go Sai E, Mi Sai E 御斎会 (seven days from Januray 8) and
Saijoo E 最勝会 (seven days from March 7),
this is one of the three great ceremonies at Kofuku-Ji.




Yuima Koji, a wealthy Indian who sought solace in Buddhism, was regarded in China as a paragon of virtue. He is often regarded as the first Zen Buddhist Master. His disupte with Monju Bosatsu Manjushri has often been depicted. His popularity here stemmed from the balance he made between disengagement with worldly attachments and family responsibility, a trait highly valued in the country. Ryukei I himself tried to closely follow Koji's example.
. Sculptor Shimizu Ryukei 清水隆慶 .


quote
Yuima Koji (Vimalakirti) 維摩居士(ゆいまこじ)
Laienbuddhist aus Vaisali, Indien.
Er war ein sehr gelehrter Mann. Als er krank lag, erschien Monju, der Bosatsu der höchsten Weisheit, und beide diskutierten mit~einander. Dabei soll Yuima durch paradoxe Aussprüche (z.B. "Schweigen wie ein Donnerschlag") das innerste Wesen des Buddhismus beschrieben und sich dem Monju überlegen erwiesen haben. Vimalakirti verkörpert eine Laienfigur. Er ist kein Priester und kein Mönch. Seine Person wird in vielen Reliefs und Gemälden als ganz normaler Mann dargestellt. Der Disput mit Monju ist im Sutra Yuimakyoo festgehalten.

Abbildungen dieser Szene finden sich in den Wandgemälden der Höhlentempel in Dun Huang in China und im Tempel Horyuuji, Nara.

- Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who
Ein Wegweiser zur Ikonografie
von japanischen Buddhastatuen
Gabi Greve




Vimalakirti debating Manjusri


- Reference : Vimalakirti


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Amulets from Kofuku-Ji


for a happy family



for traffic safety　交通安全



clover for good luck クローバー


Homepage of Kohfuku-Ji Temple Complex

February, on Setsubun Day: Demon Chasing Ceremony; Eastern Golden Holl.
February 15: Nirvana Ceremony (in commemoration of the death of the Buddha)
March 5 : Ceremony in Memorial of Genjo; Main office complex.
April 8 : Buddha's Birthday Ceremony; Southern Octagnal Hall.
April 17 : Life Releasing Ceremony; Hitokoto-Kannon Hall.
April 25 : Manjusri Ceremony; Eastern Golden Holl,
May 11/12 : Takigi Noh drama; Southern Main Gate.
July 7 : Benzaiten Festival; Three Storied Pagoda.
October 17 : Daihannya Ceremony; Southern Octagonal Hall.
November 13 : Ceremony in Memorial of Jion Daishi　慈恩大師; Kari-kondo.

source : www.kohfukuji.com



. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　


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HAIKU

秋風や囲ひもなしに興福寺
akikaze ya kakoi mo nashi ni Koofukuji

autumn wind -
temple Kofuku-Ji
without a fence

Masaoka Shiki

右京左京中は畑なり秋の風

般若寺の釣鐘細し秋の風

無住寺に荒れたきままの野分哉


. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 visiting shrines and temples .

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Rain at Kofukuji Temple, Nara
Tsuchiya Koitsu 土屋浩一 (1870-1949)


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Related words

***** . WKD : Place Names used in Haiku 　


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Taga Shrine Festivals

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Taga Shrine Festivals

***** Location: Taga, Shiga
***** Season: See below.
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Taga Taisha 多賀大社 Great Taga Shrine
in Shiga prefecture
http://www.tagataisya.or.jp/



quote
Two deities are enshrined at Taga Taisha - Izanagi no-Okami (father of Amaterasu-Omikami enshrined in Ise Jingu) and Izanami no-Okami. It is popular among many believers as a shrine of life prolongation and longevity while also protecting people against evils.
The shrine has a long history indeed as it even appeared on "Kojiki", the oldest record of events in the country completed in 712.

On its grounds is a rock called the Chojuseki that is believed to be effective at life prolongation. Additionally, the Otaga-Jakushi, a charm to protect you from sickness and grant you longevity, is sold for 300 yen a piece which is indeed popular among many.

The Okushoin Teien (place of scenic beauty) is a unique type of garden that can be seen by looking down from the Shoin. Actualizing a wonderful harmony with the Okushoin, the two features indeed create a beautiful landscape.

The Itokiri-mochi sold at "Tagaya" in front of the shrine is a famous confection that is elegantly sweet. It is made by stretching a soft lump of rice cake with a filling into a thin strip and cutting it into several pieces with a string.

Otaga-shakushi (お多賀杓子):
A talisman shakushi (Japanese ladle) from the reign of Empress Genshō. Allegedly the origin of the Japanese word otamajakushi.
source : www.japan-i.jp

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Korei taisai (古例大祭)
Most important festival held on April 23. Also known as
Taga-matsuri (多賀まつり).
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



Otaue-sai (御田植祭) (O-taue sai)
A festival of planting rice with traditional rites.
June 7.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




Mantoo-sai (万灯祭) (Manto sai)
Lantern festival held on the night of August 3-5.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Taga Castle, the capital of Mutsu Province

Tagajo 　多賀城　Tagajo Castle in Miyagi pref.

宮城県多賀城市
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


quote
Tagajō (多賀城市, Tagajō-shi) is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
The city was named after Taga Castle, the capital of Mutsu Province.

As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 63,256 and the population density of 3,220 persons per km². The total area is 19.64 km².

The present day city was founded on November 1, 1971.
The tsunami in 869 caused extensive flooding of the Sendai plain, destroying the town of Tagajō. Archaeological investigations have identified the remains of 8th and 9th century buildings beneath the present town, covered by sediments dated to the middle of the 10th century.

The town was again seriously affected by the tsunami caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. As of 7 April 2011, 177 people were known dead, with 15 missing. 1,811 people were living in shelters.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




Great Haiku Meeting at Tagajo
壺の碑全国俳句大会 Tsubo no Hi
in October

There is also a great tea ceremony.
source : www.city.tagajo.miyagi.jp


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HAIKU


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Related words

***** . WKD : Main Index 　


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Yasukuni Shrine

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Yasukuni Shrine Festival

***** Location: Tokyo, Japan
***** Season: Late Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Yasukuni matsuri 靖国祭 (やすくにまつり)
Yasukuni shrine festival
Shookonsai 招魂祭（しょうこんさい）
Shokonsai, "soul summoning rite", "spirit inviting rite"

April 21 till 23
Shunki Reitaisai (Annual Spring Festival)

Purification ritual in the afternoon of 21.
Official prayers for the Dead on 22.


Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社 Yasukuni Jinja
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan.
Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of Imperial Japan, particularly to those killed in wartime. It also houses one of the few Japanese war museums dedicated to World War II. There are also commemorative statues to mothers and animals who sacrificed in the war.
The shrine has attracted controversy for enshrining a number of war criminals from the Second World War.


Yasukuni is a shrine to house the actual souls of the dead as kami, or "spirits/souls" as loosely defined in English. It is believed that all negative or evil acts committed are absolved when enshrinement occurs. This activity is strictly a religious matter since the separation of State Shinto and the Japanese government in 1945.

The priesthood at the shrine has complete religious autonomy to decide to whom and how enshrinement may occur. They believe that enshrinement is permanent and irreversible. According to Shinto beliefs, by enshrining kami, Yasukuni Shrine provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the Emperor.
Yasukuni has all enshrined kami occupying the same single seat. The shrine is dedicated to give peace and rest to all those enshrined there.
It was the only place to which the Emperor of Japan bowed.

Enshrinement of war criminals
One of the controversies arises out of the enshrinement of World War II war criminals. In 1959, the kami of 1,068 Class-B and -C war criminals who had been executed after being sentenced to death by the military tribunals of the Allied Forces were enshrined at Yasukuni.


Annual celebrations
January 1: Shinnensai (New Year's Festival)

February 11: Kenkoku Kinensai (National Foundation Day)
Anniversary of the day on which Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu, is said to have founded the Japanese nation.

February 17: Kinensai (Spring Festival for Harvest)

April 21–23: Shunki Reitaisai　春季例大祭
(Annual Spring Festival)

April 29: Showasai (Showa Festival)—Emperor Showa's birthday

June 29: Gosoritsu Kinenbisai (Founding Day)
Commemoration of the founding of Yasukuni Jinja

July 13–16: Mitama Matsuri—
A mid-summer celebration of the spirits of the ancestors. The entry walk is decorated with 40 foot high walls of 29000 or more lanterns, and thousands of visitors come to pay respects to their lost relatives and friends.

October 17–20: Shuki Reitaisai (Annual Autumn Festival)

November 3: Meijisai (Emperor Meiji's Birthday)

November 23: Niinamesai (Festival of First Fruits)

December 23: Tenno gotanshin Hoshukusai
(Birthday of the Current Emperor)

The first, 11th and 21st day of each month: Tukinamisai

Every day:
Asa Mikesai, Yu Mikesai, Eitai Kagurasai (perpetual Kagura festivals)

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Amulet from Yasukuni Shrine

. . . CLICK here for more Amulets !


Homepage of Yasukuni Shrine
source : www.yasukuni.or.jp



Oonusa 大麻 (おおぬさ) Onusa Amulet


source : Yasukuni Amulets


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a car named : Daruma Serika ダルマ・セリカ



A car race starting from Yasukuni shrine
靖国神社をスタート
finish at Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto
京都は上賀茂神社

source : minkara.carview.co.jp


. . . CLICK here for "Daruma Serika" Photos !


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HAIKU

靖国祭喜寿の報告父にせり
Yasukuni sai kiju no hookoku chichi ni seri

Yasukuni shrine festival -
I report to my father
I am now seventy-seven

Saito Mamoru 佐藤守



kiju 喜寿 is a special birthday in Japan.
Special Birthdays in Japan


kanreki 還暦 60th birthday
. The Circle of 60 Years .


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Related words

***** . Kenkoku kinenbi 建国記念日 (けんこくきねんび)
National Foundation Day of Japan .


***** . OBSERVANCES – SPRING SAIJIKI .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Tomobata Flag Festival

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Tomobata Flag Festival (tomobata matsuri)

***** Location: Ishikawa, Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Tomobata matsuri 伴旗祭 (ともばたまつり)
Tomobata Flag Festival
..... Ogikoo sai 小木港祭（おぎこうさい）Ogiko Harbour Festival

April 17 and 18



shrine Mifune Jinja 御船神社

Ishikawa prefecture,　
Uchiura machi, 石川県 内浦町 御船神社


quote
This spring Festival is dedicated to Mifune Shrine.
This Festival is also known as Mifune Matsuri. The 10 boats are decorated with 5 coloured Fukinagashi streamers. A huge streamer which is 20 m tall and 2 m wide and is made by stringing 500 Minogami washi papers is erected on the catamaran boat.
This huge streamer is called Tomobata.



These boats then rove around the Ogi Bay in tune with the rallying cries of "Yo-Yo-" and music of flutes, bells and drums. The scene which looks like a painting from an old picture scroll is sure to take you back in time.
source : hot-ishikawa.jp





The Tomobata 伴旗 flags.

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Other festivals in Ishikawa, Noto area

Abare (Rampage) Festival
Nights of the first Friday and Saturday of July
Abare Festival is dedicated to Yasaka Shrine in Ushitsu of Noto Peninsula.


Issaki Hoto Festival
First Saturday of August
This is one of the biggest and most lively summer festivals of Noto where spirited men from the area around a fishing town called Ishizaki parade through the streets bearing Kiriko lanterns


Seihakusai
May 3rd - 5th
This Festival is a designated as Japan's Important Intangible Cultural Property and is widely known as "Seihakusai Dekayama Festival".


Okuma Kabuto Festival
September 20th
One of Japan's Important Intangible Cultural Properties. This important Festival is dedicated to Kuma Kabuto Arakashi-hiko Shrine which is also known as Kuma Kabuto shrine. This Festival is also known as "20th Day Festival" since it is celebrated on 20th of September every year.


Wajima Taisai (Great Festival of Wajima)
August 23rd - 25th
10 meter tall festival lanterns called Kiriko as well as smaller portable paper lanterns are carried through the town streets along with portable shrines called 'omikoshi'.


Nafune Gojinjo Drum
Almost everyday from July to October;
The Gojinjo Drum Performance is a traditional folk entertainment in the Nafune area. It is said that the drummers wearing ghost masks and seaweed hair fought off the armies of Uesugi Kenshin who tried to attack the area in 1577.


Noto's Sakura (Cherry blossom) Station
April
Kashima, Anamizu-machi


Komaruyama Park's Sakura
April
This was originally the site of Nanao Castle founded close to the seashore by the 1st Lord of Kaga Province, Lord Maeda.


Shio Yawaragi no Sato
April
With 1,500 trees of Someiyoshino cherry blossom variety, Yawaragi-no-Sato (Place of Peace) is one of Noto's most famous cherry blossoms viewing spot.
source : hot-ishikawa.jp


MORE Festivals
source : ishikawajet.wikia.com

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Things found on the way


. Washi - Paper from Mino .


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HAIKU



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Related words

***** . Prayer flag, prayer flags.


***** . OBSERVANCES – SPRING SAIJIKI .



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Senbu-E Myoken-Ji

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Reading the sutras 1000 times (senbu e )

***** Location: Kyoto
***** Season: Mit-spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Senbu-E 千部会 Ceremony of chanting sutras for 1000 times
法華千部会


At temple Myookenji 妙顯寺 Myoken-Ji, Kyoto
April 14

The sutra Hokekyo is chanted for 1000 times.

The temple was advised as a special prayer temple by the emperor Godaigo Tenno 　後醍醐天皇　in 1335.


MORE photos:
source : shikaishodo.com



In 2013 the timing has been postponed to March 09, due to considerations of the Big Earthquake on March 11, 2011.
05月09日　- - 4月14日に行われた法華千部会の様子を更新致しました。

京都市上京区寺之内通新町西入妙顯寺前町514


Festivals of this temple

1月 -- 新年祈祷会
2月 -- 二の午　慶中様大祭
4月 -- 14日　法華千部会
6月 -- 16日　法華懺法会（後醍醐天皇聖忌会）
8月 -- 10日　盆施餓鬼法要
11月 -- 13日　宗祖御会式（開山日像菩薩御会式）
12月 -- 冬至　除災祈祷会
31日 --　除夜の鐘撞


Look at the Garden
source : teien.html


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quote
This is another of several nearly identical portraits painted in the 16th & 17th Centuries. This one is kept at Myokenji Temple in Kyoto. It appears be part of a set that includes portraits of Chih-I T’ien T’ai and Saicho, aka Dengyo Daishi. IIRC, the portraits were painted in the late 1600′s.

The founder of this Temple was Nichizo (1269-1342), who was Nichiro’s half-brother. It is said that Nichiren, on his deathbed at Ikegami, commissioned Nichizo with the task of converting the emperor in Kyoto. I am curious if this is an oral legend, actually recorded in the authenticated Shuso Gosenge Kiroku, or, perhaps, from the apocryphal transmission ‘dox’ kept at Ikegami?

Ryuei on Nichizo & Myokenji:
In 1333, Myokenji Temple joined in the prayers for Emperor Godaigo’s success. Fortunately for Nichizo, the emperor was successful and the Kamakuran Shogunate fell in 1333. In 1334, the emperor recognized Myokenji Temple as an Imperial Prayer Temple. In this way, Nichiren Buddhism was finally given official recognition. Nichizo’s lineage would later be known as the Shijo Lineage due to the location of Myokenji Temple in Kyoto. The Myokenji Temple was burned down by Tendai sohei (soldier-monks) from Mt. Hiei in 1387. It was rebuilt in 1398 and renamed Myohonji. It took the name Myokenji again in 1519.”
— The Mission to Kyoto by Ryuei Michael McCormick

source : fraughtwithperil.com


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. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011　.

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Things found on the way

Chanting sutras for 1000 times, the same sutra or different ones, chanted by one priest or many, there are variations of this kind of event in other temples in Japan.

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***** . NEW YEAR - the complete SAIJIKI


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O no Mai Wakasa

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O no Mai (oo no mai　王の舞) dance of the king
'O-no Mai'



quote
The 'Ono Mai' dance, held every April 8th at Uwase Jinja (Shrine) is designated as one of the nation's intangible folklore cultural assets.
It involves a lively ritual dance performed as a prayer to secure good harvests, bumper catches of fish and nation-wide peace.

More about festivals in Wakasa:
source : www.wakasa-mikatagoko.jp

source : www.town.fukui-wakasa.lg.jp


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Uwase Shrine (宇波西神社), Mikata, on April 8th.
The dancer, who wore a red-faced and long-nosed mask (like Tengu) and dressed in red clothes, performed a valiant dance to wish a bumper harvest this year.





Water-spouting statue of cormorant in Temizuya
(手水舎, purification trough) at Uwase Jinja (宇波西神社).
Uwase Jinja enshrines Ugayafukiaezu-no-mikoto (鵜草葺不合尊, meaning "cormorant-rush-thatching-unfinished"), who is the father of Emperor Jinmu, and is originated in a folklore with a cormorant. Cormorant is a holy bird here.

- Shared by Taisaku Nogi -
Joys of Japan, 2012

- More photos on FB by Taisaku Nogi

. temizuya 手水舎　purification font, purification trough .


This dance is performed at many shrines in the Wakasa region. Probably its origin was a "Dragon King Dance" ryuuoo no mai 竜王の舞.
Or
maybe people chased a wild oxen and put on a tengu mask to chase it.

The first dance is performed with long spears, and sometimes called
sanben kaeshi 三遍返し（さんべんかえし）
followed by
honmai 本舞 main dance
suzume odori 雀踊り（すずめおどり）dance of the starlings
nigirimeshi ニギリメシ "Nigiri rice balls"

Every shrine has its own unique version of the dance, which is performed at the Shrine Spring Festival. In Wakasa, this is the sign that spring has finally come.

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Shrine Uwase Jinja 宇波西神社
Mikata, Wakasa 三方郡　若狭　
上瀬宮 (Kamise no miya)

Uwase shinji 宇波西神事 Uwase Shinto ritual
宇波西神社の神事芸能



source :　fujun/archives

This shrine was one of the most important along the Hokuriku coast of Japan.
The customs came from Hyuuga in Miyazaki 日向（宮崎県), here called Hiruga 日向（ひるが) around 701. On the 8th day of the third lunar month, each home was purified (yagitoo やぎとう) by a Shinto ritual, complete with Dengaku dance and food offerings.
(This is now celebrated on April 8.)

In the village of Hiruga, once the fisherman Rokuro-Uemon 六郎右衛門 was visited by a cormorant, who asked him to help a princess at the bottom of the sea. At the bottom he found a sword, which be brought to his home and prayed to it on his Shinto house altar. Then in his dream the deity Ugayafukiaezu appeared and ordered him to build a shrine and pray to him at Kamise 上瀬. This is the old name of Uwase shrine.


Deitiy in residence



鵜草葺不合尊 Ugayafukiaezu no mikoto
盧茲草葺不合尊
father of Jinmu Tenno 神武天皇


quote
Ugayafukiaezu
Other names: Hikonagisatake ugayafukiaezu no mikoto(Kojiki)

The son of Hohodemi (Ninigi's son) and Toyotamabime (Watatsumi's daughter); the father of Emperor Jinmu.
Ugayafukiaezu's name ("cormorant-rush-thatching-unfinished") is associated with the events of his birth; according to an "alternate writing" related by Nihongi, the name was given by his mother Toyotamabime.
As an offspring of the imperial grandchild by a sea goddess, he was born within a parturition hut built beside the seashore. But his mother's labor began before the parturition hut was fully thatched with cormorant feathers, and Toyotamabime was seen in labor by Ninigi.
In humiliation, Toyotamabime wrapped the newborn child in grass, and abandoned him by the seashore, where he was found and raised by Toyotamabime's sister Tamayoribime. (Tamayori hime)

According to another "alternate writing" of Nihongi, Toyotamabime could not bring herself to abandon the child, and took him up and returned with him to her palace in the sea. Since she felt it unfit that an offspring of the Heavenly Grandchild be raised within the sea, however, she gave him to her sister Tamayoribime to be taken to the land.
Ugayafukiaezu later married his aunt Tamayoribime and fathered the kami Itsuse no mikoto, Inahi no mikoto, Mikenu no mikoto, and
Kamuyamatoiwarebiko (Emperor Jinmu).
source : Mori Mizue, Kokugakuin 2005


玉依姫
. Tamayori Hime from Yoshino Mikumari Jinja .


. Samekawa Ablutions (Samekawa misogi ) .
佐女川神社（さめがわじんじゃ） Shrine Samegawa Jinja
with
Tamayori hime no mikoto 玉依姫命（たまよりひめのみこと）


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HAIKU


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Related words

. U 鵜（う）cormorant .
The cormorant is the sacred animal of the deity
鵜草葺不合尊 Ugayafukiaezu no mikoto


. The Dragon Art Gallery – 2012 .

***** . Japan - Shrines and Temples .


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