KANBUTSU-E 灌仏会

Kanbutsu-e ( 灌仏)is the celebration of the Buddha’s birthday, which is mostly associated to the Hana Matsuri 花祭り(Flower Festival).

According to the story, Siddhartha Gautama (commonly known as Shakyamuni Buddha), was born 2500 years ago in the gardens of Lumbini located in Kapilavastu, a small kingdom in the Himalayan foothills.  Legend has it that Buddha, immediately after his birth, took seven steps and said, "In the Heavens above and this Earth below, I am the only one honored”.

The ceremony captures this moment by symbolically bathing a statue depicting the Buddha as a child pointing one index finger to the sky and the other to the earth. The garden where the Buddha was born is represented by the flowers that decorate the statue, and the rain of nectar that the two dragon kings poured over the newborn Siddhartha is symbolized by pouring sweet tea over the statue.

In Hinotori An…