Buddha Statues

Hello Subscribers,
Knowledge updates for November 2010.

A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism

» BAKU 獏 or 貘. Eater of Nightmares. Protective temple ornament.
https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/baku.html
The elephant-like Baku is a mythological Chinese creature thought to devour (i.e. prevent) nightmares. Images of the Baku are commonly placed under the eaves of Japanese temples to ward off evil spirits, as are images of the magical Shishi (lion dog). Images of the Dragon are also found frequently, along with Baku and Shishi carvings, as decorative and protective architectural elements at temples, less so at shrines. Effigies of the Baku rose to popularity in the Edo period (1603 to 1868). The character for Baku (獏 or 貘) is also the Japanese name for a real-life mammal known as the tapir (an animal shaped like a pig but with a long snout). Click here for details and photos about the mythological Baku, who nearly always appears alongside the magical Shishi as a protective architectural decoration (kibana 木鼻, or decorated beam-end).

BAKU 獏 – Eaters of Nightmares. Edo Period.

Shishi adorning temple-shrine multiplex in Kamakura.

Click here for a photo tour of Shishi images in Japan.

Current & Upcoming Events in Japan & Elsewhere

» Tokyo National Museum December Schedule.
www.tnm.go.jp/en/servlet/Con?pageId=X00&processId=01

» Nara National Museum, Upcoming Exhibition Schedule.
www.narahaku.go.jp/english/exhibition/special.html

» Kyoto National Museum, Upcoming Exhibition Schedule.
www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/index_top

» December 8. Jōdō-e 成道会. Ceremony Commemorating the Awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha. In Japan, this is the day the Historical Buddha reportedly achieved enlightenment (Skt. = nirvana). Religious services called Jōdō-e 成道会 are performed at numerous Buddhist temples.

» December 16th. Gochinza 御鎮座 Festival at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū Shrine 鶴岡八幡宮 in Kamakura. This day was reportedly the day of the shrine’s establishment in 1191. Festivities start after sunset, when firewood is burned and shrine maidens and shrine priests perform ritual dances.

» December 18th. Outdoor fair at Hase-dera Temple in Kamakura. Many outdoor stalls along the approach to the temple sell numerous items that the Japanese people typically buy in preparation for the new year.

» December 23. Emperor’s Birthday, Tennō Tanjōbi 天皇誕生日. National Holiday.

» December 31. New Year’s Eve, Ōmisoka 大晦日. Not a national holiday. Preparations begin well before Dec. 31, when Japanese households, schools, and businesses clean their habitats from top to bottom. Kadomatsu 門松 (a decoration made of pine branches and bamboo) and shimekazari 注連飾り (rope of straw with strips of white paper) are placed in front of the house). Ōmisoka usually starts when families settle down to watch special New Year variety shows on television, commonly featuring popular entertainers and singers. Toshikoshi-soba 年越し蕎麦 (long, thin buckwheat noodles) are traditionally eaten.

» January 1 (early morning). New Year’s Eve, Joya-no-Kane 除夜の鐘. At the end of each year, Japanese temples strike a large bell 108 times to symbolically awaken us from our delusions. This bell-ringing tradition is called Joya-no-Kane. Many temples allow visitors to strike the bell once and make a prayer in the early hours of Jan. 1st.

» January 1. New Year’s Day, Shōgatsu 正月. National Holiday. Established in 1948, but prior to then it was an important ceremonial day of imperial worship known as Shihō-hai 四方拝. Today most Japanese businesses are closed from Dec. 29 through Jan. 3. At the beginning of the year, many Japanese visit a shrine to express gratitude for divine protection during the past year and to gain the blessings of the local kami for ongoing protection in the coming year. This first shrine visit of the new year is called Hatsumode 初詣. At Tsurugaoka Hachimangū Shrine in Kamakura alone, some two million people visit the shrine over three days during the New Year holiday. Japanese also make pilgrimages devoted to the Seven Lucky Gods during the month of January.

» For a larger list of Japan’s major holidays, see Mr. Kondo Takahiro’s web site.
asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/annualev.htm

End Newsletter

Hello Subscribers,
Knowledge updates for October 2010.

A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism

» Myōken Bosatsu 妙見菩薩 – Deification of North Pole Star & Big Dipper.
www.onmarkproductions.com/html/28-moon-stations.html#myoken
Added 40+ photos and revised text. In Japan, worship of the northern Pole Star (Hokushin 北辰) along with the seven stars of the Big Dipper (Hokuto Shichisei 北斗七星) is a syncretic blend of Buddhism, Taoism, Onmyōdō 陰陽道 (Yin-Yang Divination), and local kami cults, but it is especially important within Esoteric Buddhism, and from the Heian period (794-1180) onward, Myōken was venerated under various guises as the central star controlling all other celestial bodies, one believed to control the life and fortunes of the people, one who protected not only the emperor and country, but also warded off diseases, prevented calamities of fire and other disasters, increased life spans, and healed eye diseases. As a deification of the Pole Star, Myōken was also worshipped as the deity of safe voyages and navigators. In Japan, even today, s/he is venerated at both Buddhist temples and Shintō shrines. The annual Myokensai (or Myōken Festival) is held on Nov. 22-23 each year. See Events below for details.

Four-armed Myoken atop dragon, holding sun & moon discs, and brush & tablet (on which s/he records our good/bad deeds). Surrounded by two attendants. Handscroll, color on paper. Kamakura Era (13th-14th century). Important Cultural Property ICP. Treasure of Shomyo-ji Temple, Kanagawa, but now housed by the Kanagawa Prefectural Kanazawa Bunko Museum . Image based on drawing in the Zuzosho, or the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Icons, a text edited by Eju (1060-1145 AD).

Current & Upcoming Events in Japan

» Myōkensai 妙見祭. The Myōken Festival at Yatsushiro Shrine 八代神社 (aka Myōkengū 妙見宮）in Yatsushiro City 八代市 (Kumamoto Prefecture 熊本県) is held annually for two days on Nov. 22-23. This lively festival involves a parade featuring a six-meter-long turtle with a two-meter-long snake head that is carried around town. This half-snake half-turtle is called a Kida 亀蛇. See numerous photos of the festival at this J-site www.yado.co.jp/kankou/kumamoto/kumanan/yatsushiro/yatsushiro2.htm.

» Shichi-go-san 七五三. Seven-five-three ceremony. In mid-November each year, children aged seven, five, and three don their finest traditional garb and visit their local shrines to be blessed. Special Shintō rites are performed to formally welcome girls (age 3) and boys (age 5) into the community. Girls (age 7) are welcomed into womanhood and allowed to wear the obi (decorative sash worn with kimono).

» Bunka no Hi 文化の日. Culture Day, November 3. National Holiday. Establish in 1948, but before that celebrated as the birthday of the Meiji emperor.

» Kinrō Kansha no Hi 勤労感謝の日. Labor Thanksgiving Day, November 23. National Holiday. Established in 1948, but before then it was celebrated as the Imperial Harvest Festival (Niinamesai 新嘗祭). A rice-tasting ceremony (one of Shintō’s main rituals) is performed each year when the emperor offers the newly harvested rice to the gods and then eats a little himself.

» Tokyo National Museum November Schedule. www.tnm.go.jp/en/servlet/Con?pageId=X00&processId=01

» Nara National Museum, The 62nd Annual Exhibition of Shōsō-in Treasures ends on November 11. www.narahaku.go.jp/english/exhibition/special.html

» Kyoto National Museum, The World of Buddhist Kasaya (or the robes worn by monks) runs until Nov. 23. www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/tokubetsu/101009/sakuhin.html.
A must-see for those interested in the symbolism and art of robes in Buddhist faith. For those interested in the robe’s creation, types of robes, care of robes, sewing practices, and other matters, see Jean Selkirk’s site Buddha’s Robe is Sewn. www.buddhasrobeissewn.org <end post>

Hello Subscribers,
New knowledge updates for August 2010.

Interview with Mark Schumacher (The Japan Times)

• Kamakura expat at one with all Buddhist deities | The Japan Times Online
  Details on my 15-year journey studying the deities of Japan. See https://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100807a1.html

A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism

• MARISHITEN 摩利支天 – God/Goddess of prosperity, warrior class, & entertainers.
  www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kankiten-idaten-other-tenbu.html#marishiten
  Added many photos and revised text. Introduced to Japan in the early 9th century, Marici (Jp. Marishi) means “light” or “mirage.” S/he was worshipped by warriors, especially archers, from the middle ages onward for the gift of invisibility and was invoked in order to escape the notice of one’s enemies. Those who worship Marishiten are said to be free of danger from all misfortune and evil, robbers, natural disaster, poisonous drugs, and other harm. Marishiten’s cult peaked in the Edo era but declined thereafter owing to the dismantling of the feudal system, to the abolishment of the samurai class, and to the rising popularity of goddess Benzaiten, who has largely supplanted Marishiten as an object of veneration in modern times.
• ZODIAC LORE.
  www.onmarkproductions.com/html/12-zodiac.shtml
  Added photos and text, and expanded divination section.
• SHŌMEN KONGŌ 青面金剛 – Multi-armed esoteric (tantric) deity.
  www.onmarkproductions.com/html/monkey-koushin-p3.html#shomen-kongo
  Added many photos and expanded text. This deity is said to protect believers from illness, eye problems, breathing disorders, and many other ailments. Since the Kamakura period, Shōmen Kongō has been a key player in the Kōshin cult. This cult believes that on the eve of the unlucky Kōshin day (monkey day), it is particularly easy to have your life shortened. In order to counteract this danger, believers stay awake through the night gathered before scrolls of Shōmen Kongō (shown depicted atop three monkeys, “See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil”). Even tody, during Kōshin rituals, believers gather before scrolls of Shōmen Kongō and are pummeled, from head to legs, with a wooden monkey figurine, which apparently ensures future health.

ENJOY
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