AOBA-MATSURI FESTIVAL

AOBA-MATSURI FESTIVAL
Let’s Celebrate Kobo Daishi’s Birthday!


June 15 (Wed) FESTIVITY

9:00 Buddhist Service < Place: The main hall in Daishi Kyokai >
* Kobo Daishi Kukai was born in Sanuki Province (Kagawa prefecture in Shiokoku island) on June 15th,774. In order to celebrate his birth, this ceremony has been carried on every June 15th as an annual event of Koyasan, since 1778.
10:00, 11:00, 14:00 Gagaku
(Traditional Court Music) performed by Kanagawa Gagaku Club
< Place: Kongobuji >
11:40 Song of Prayer　
12:00 Wakayama Police Marching Band　　
12:00 #1. Marching band by Koyasan Elementary School Students
< From Ichinohashi to Kongobuji, or to Daishi Kyokai >
#2. Hanamido < Starat from Ichinohashi to Kongobuji >
* Hanamido is a small portable altar that enshrines Kobo Daishi in his infancy.
The procession of Hanamido parades along the main street together with other
decorative floats. The processional performance includes dancing and drumming as well.
Anyone can join in the “Local Dancing Team”

14:00 #3. Greetings < Parking lot in front of Kongobuji >
・ The Most Reverend Yukei Matsunaga,
the 412th Chief Abbot of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism
・ Takeji Kise,　a Mayor of Koya Town

EXHIBITION & SERVICES
9:00 Exhibition of Calligraphy, Photographs and Paintings of Buddhist art
< Place: Shinbetsuden in Kongobuji >
Flower Arrangement Display < Place: Betsuden in Kongobuji >
9:00 Tea Ceremony < Place: Okuden in Kongobuji >
* Open to the public. Tea is served for free.
9:00 Performance of Flower Arrangement & Tea Ceremony
< Place: Daishi Kyokai >

(( Admission to Kongobuji is free on June 15th ))

Not An Umbrella Stand

When you visit Koyasan, you may see this kind of stone stands at the entrance of temples.
In this rainy season, you are afraid of your umbrellas taken away by somebody by mistake and try to find the place where you leave your umbrella safely.
But do not put your umbrella in this stand.
This is not a trash can or the umbrella stand but is only set for keeping Kongozue, the special cane which pilgrims are carrying when they travel around Shikoku, the pilgrimage path.
So this stand should be kept clean and nothing else can be put and I hope you'll show your respect for that.

(By KQ)

June Event

Rainy season has just started.
It came more than 2 weeks earlier than usual.
In Koyasan, the greens are most beautiful in June and Kobo Daishi, Kukai was born in this beautiful season.

June 2 and 3
The Summer Prayer Ritual at Sannoin (at Garan) is to be held.
The main Buddha of Nan-in Temple left Nan-in around 8:15 in the morning and is moved to Sannoin. The procession which is followed by many worshippers is going to Sannoin (on June 2). The rituals are held at Sannoin from 9:00 on June 2nd and 3rd.

http://koyasanguide.blogspot.com/2010/07/special-summer-prayer-in-sannnoin.html

June 4
From 18:00, Sannoin Rissei Ritual is to be held at Sannoin.

June 14
Aoba Matsuri Festival to celebrate Kobo Daishi's birthday is to be held on June 15. On the eve of the day, around 18:00, you can see huge paper-made objects which are lit from inside by lantern on the streets of the town.

June 15
From 9:00 the celebrating ritual is held at Daishi Kyokai.
From 12:00, the parades for Wakayama Police Marching Band, local elementary school kids' drum and fife band, the floats enshrined Kobo Daishi in his infancy.

http://www.koyasan-ccn.com/event/eventcal.html#event6

(By KQ)

TyphoonⅡ(Songda)

May 29, 2011
This is almost the end of May. Although we didn't have enough time to enjoy warm spring days, the rainy season has set in. And, oh my!! A big typhoon is approaching to Japan. Now that, as of May 29 morning,the typhoon Songda is about 100 kilometers northeast of Yakushima, and approaching to Japan's main island at 55 kilometers an hour. Due to the approach of the typhoonⅡ, or Songda, the weather today is getting stormy.
Here are the warnings annouced officially this morning in Wakayama area.
* Heavy rain warning
* Flood warning
* High wind warning
* High seas warning

It is raining in Koyasan, but not windy so far.

Cherry Blossoms Are At Their Best

About 2 weeks ago, cherry blossoms in Koyasan looked like this and still it sometimes snowed.

But finally spring has come to Koyasan.
Unfortunately the weather forecast for today was not welcome as the holiday but the weather today was pretty busy to change all the time, sunny, cloudy suddenly stormy rain and windy.

Drooping cherry trees in front of Kongobuji look heavy but proud with lots of blossoms.

Many couples and families took pictures in front of cherry blossoms.
I'm sure cherry blossoms console and cheer people depressed these days and give energy for us to encourage people suffering from Tohoku Earthquake.

The last picture is famous as KASAZAKURA, umbrella shaped cherry tree which is said to be more than 400 years old. Toyotomi Hideyoshi praised and cherrished this cherry blossoms and left his Haiku poem.
"Ages pass, even an old tee has blossoms at their best in Koyasan."

(by KQ)

VIC -Even Closer to Help You-

Our VIC(Visitor Information Center) office is in Daishi Kyokai which is near Kongobuji, the head temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism, on the west across from the big parking lot.
But still not many tourists can't recognize what it is like.
This is the picture of the entrance of Daishi Kyokai. Please come inside.
From outside, it looked darker but please do not hesitate to come in.

Then you'll see the friendly symbolic character "KOYA-KUN". Please take the right hand entrance, you'll see our counter.




You can see warm-welcoming smile of our staff member on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from April to November. (From December to March, only on Wedmesdays and Fridays. Sorry for your inconvenience.) Unless you're lucky enough coming on the day we're not open, you can also contact us on either 090-1486-2588 or 090-3263-5184.

(by KQ)

Thank you for coming all the way to Japan

From April to October, KCCN provides 3-hour-English guided tour around Koyasan on Wednesdays.

You can participate the tour without any reservation and you can get a general information about Koyasan during the tour.

Since Tohoku and north Kanto Earthquakes and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster,  less and less foreign visitors have come to Koyasan.

Well, actually Koyasan is about 700 or 800 km away from Fukushima and west part of Japan don't have much influcence from that.  But people in the west have been giving themselves self-restrain and even hesitated to do ordinarily.

But I hope people from abroad visit Kansai area and encourage us so that we could support people in Tohoku with cheerful smile and economically too.  Now the cherry blossoms are out of bloom in most area of Kansai but still you can enjoy spring flowers like wisteria, yellow Japanese rose, azalea, iris and so on.

And here in Koyasan, you can still enjoy cherry blossoms next week or later.  Well, it was 1.9 degrees Celcius today and the season were brought back to winter. People staying at Koyasan today is so surprised to feel the differences of the temperature.

On such a cold day, we were happy to have guests participating our Wednesday Tour.  They were from Holland and  they know a lot about Japanese history and Japanese samurai heroes.  The person in charge today was also a big fan of Japanese history and she was so happy to share the stories about samurai with them.  I hope they should come back sometime to see the grave of Date Masamune which they missed today.  

 

 (^-^) by KQ 

 

PS:Thank you for the candy!

On the Day with a Buddhist Ritual

At the head temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism, Kongobuji, the special decoration is done along the approach to the front and side gates on special days in Buddhism.

Classical wooden pails are lined up on both side of the approach and neat piles of Japanese cedar branches are placed by the gate. They are said to be used as drinking water and the grass for the horses who brought their masters to the temple.
The red tubs by the gate are said to be used for those masters purified their hands before entering the temple.

It was HANAMATSURI, the Flower Festival to celebrate the Buddha(Shakyamuni)'s birthday today. (By KQ)

Hana-Matsuri, the Flower Festival

HANA-MATSURI, the Flower Festival is held to celebrate the Buddha(Shakyamuni)'s birthday today, on April 8th.

At Kongobuji, the head temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism, abbots gathered in the main hall and hold the Buddhist Ceremony.

The alter decorated with colorful flowers holds a young Shakyamuni Buddha with his hand up in the pool of AMACHA, hydrangea tea inside.

After the ceremony offered for Buddha's birthday, his alter is placed in the hallway and any visitors celebrate his birthday with pouring (offering) hydrangea tea to the little Buddha.

The local kindergarten children as well visit Kongobuji and join this ceremony. They are all curious, line up in order and offering tea earnestly.

The visitors to the temple as well offered hydrangea tea served by wives of local temples. (By KQ)

VIC Small Opening

 After the long hibernation, we newly opened Koyasan Visitor Information Center to provide all the information about Koyasan and to answer your questions at the same place in Daishi Kyokai.
The entrance is a little difficult to find but please do not miss our sign.
We're waiting for your coming.

However the Reception is shared with 3 different organizations, so sometimes you may hesitate to come into our front desk when many Japanese visitors are buying their souvenirs or waiting for their order to have OJUKAI, the Buddhist ritual, SHAKYO, copying sutra, or GOSHUIN, the special calligraphy of Buddha. But once you see closely, under the English sign, you'll see our staff member smiling to you with our full hospitality. You can talk to us in English.
(By KQ)