![Todaiji Syunie Nara JPN 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Todaiji_Syunie_Nara_JPN_001.JPG)
The is a ceremony held each year at certain
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
temples in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The name comes from its observance in the second month of the
lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Ea ...
. Today, the service is usually held in either February or March, depending on temples.
One of the popularly known Shuni-e is the one at
Tōdai-ji
is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year ...
in
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
, held between March 1 and the morning of March 15. This article describes below the details of the Shuni-e held at
Tōdai-ji
is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year ...
.
The Tōdai-ji Shuni-e ceremony was originally started by
Jitchū
(?–824) was a Buddhist monk in Nara Japan of the Kegon sect, and pupil of Roben. In his later years, Jitchu oversaw the expansion of Tōdai-ji temple, and introduced liturgy and rituals still used today. The most noteworthy of these ceremonie ...
, a monk of the
Kegon
The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based primar ...
school, as a devotion and confession to the Bodhisattva
Kannon
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
(
Skt: Avalokiteśvara). It has continued every year since 752, though it was held at a different site until the
Nigatsu-dō
Nigatsu-dō ( ja, 二月堂 ) is one of the important structures of Tōdai-ji, a temple in Nara, Japan. Nigatsu-dō is located to the east of the Great Buddha Hall, on the hillside of Mount Wakakusa. It includes several other buildings in additi ...
was completed in 772. The ceremony is also known as
Omizutori
''Omizutori'' (), or the annual, sacred water-drawing festival, is a Japanese Buddhist festival that takes place in the Nigatsu-dō of Tōdai-ji, Nara, Japan. The festival is the final rite in observance of the two-week-long Shuni-e ceremony ...
(お水取り), the name of its climactic ritual.
The ceremony actually comprises an array of ceremonies centered on repentance to the Bodhisattva Kannon and prayers for the welfare of society. Two of the best known ceremonies of the Shuni-e are the Fire Ceremony (''otaimatsu'' in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
) and the
Omizutori
''Omizutori'' (), or the annual, sacred water-drawing festival, is a Japanese Buddhist festival that takes place in the Nigatsu-dō of Tōdai-ji, Nara, Japan. The festival is the final rite in observance of the two-week-long Shuni-e ceremony ...
, or "Water Ceremony".
Origin
The origins of the Tōdai-ji Shuni-e ceremony are unclear, but an illustrated text in 1586 cites a legend surrounding the monk Jitchū.
According to the story, Jitchū wandered into a cave in the year 751, and the cave led him to the Buddhist heaven realm of
Tushita
Tuṣita (Sanskrit) or Tusita (Pāli) is one of the six deva-worlds of the Kāmadhātu, located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, is said to be reachable through meditation. It is the heaven where the Bodhisatt ...
(''Tosotsuten'' in Japanese). There, in the cave, he observed 49 shrines of devotion to various Buddhist figures, and heavenly beings (see
deva
Deva may refer to:
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* Deva ...
) frantically running between shrines over and over to pay obeisances and offerings. One particularly grand shrine was devoted to the Bodhisattva
Kannon
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
, in his eleven-faced form, crowded with beings taking part in a grand repentance ritual.
Jitchū was so moved by the ceremony, he asked one of the heavenly beings if he could take part, but was refused because time in Tushita Heaven is much faster than on Earth. According to the being, one day in Tushita would be equivalent to 400 years.
However, Jitchū resolved to reproduce the ceremony anyway, and after further adventures, establishes the Shuni-e rite, devoted to the 11-faced form of Kannon Bodhisattva.
Sources show that the Empress Dowager, Kōmyō, was a devout patroness of Jitchū, and she originally allowed the use of her administrative office to perform the rite. When she died later, and her office was abolished, Jitchū moved the rite to the current location of the
Nigatsu-dō
Nigatsu-dō ( ja, 二月堂 ) is one of the important structures of Tōdai-ji, a temple in Nara, Japan. Nigatsu-dō is located to the east of the Great Buddha Hall, on the hillside of Mount Wakakusa. It includes several other buildings in additi ...
Hall in the temple of
Tōdai-ji
is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year ...
in
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
, Japan. The liturgy and ceremony remains largely unchanged during this time.
Repentance Ceremony
The core repentance ritual of the Shuni-e, closed to the public, is performed by a select group of eleven monks called ''rengyōshū'', who engage in a repentance session six times a day:
# late evening (''shoya'')
# midnight (''yahan'')
# after midnight (''goya'')
# dawn (''jinjo'')
# midday (''nitchu'')
# dusk (''nichimotsu'')
In each session, the monks gather in the central worship hall (''naijin'') before the altar of the eleven-faced Kannon Bodhisattva. The ''shoya'', or late evening session, is the longest, comprising 3 hours. The liturgy and format of all sessions is based on the Buddhist text, the
Eleven-Faced Avalokitesvara Heart Dharani Sutra
The Heart-dhāraṇī of Avalokiteśvara-ekadaśamukha Sūtra (Chinese: 佛說十一面觀世音神咒經; Japanese: 十一面神呪心經 Jūichimen-jinshushin-gyō) is a Buddhist text first translated from Sanskrit into Chinese on the 28th day o ...
.
All sessions consist of the following format:
* Repentance.
* Invocation of the Bodhisattva's name.
* Invocation of the
dharani
Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as ''Parittas'', are Buddhist chants, mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, usually the mantras consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the Bud ...
from the sutra above.
* Vows to strive to benefit all beings.
The recitation of the Bodhisattva's name comes from this verse of the Dharani Sutra above:
The Fire Ceremony
Every night, ten select believers (eleven on March 12) shoulder large pine torches as long as 8 meters and weighing as much as 80 kilograms. Girded with swords and staves, the torch-bearers climb a flight of stairs and run along the balcony of the Nigatsu-dō, showering sparks on the public below. It is thought that these sacred sparks will protect the recipient from evil. The monks also chant, perform ritual circumambulation, and wave swords to ward off evil spirits.
The Water Ceremony
Underneath the Nigatsu-dō is the Wakasa Well, from which, according to legend, water springs forth only once a year. After the final night of the Fire Ceremony, the monks gather water from the well around 2am by torchlight, after which the water is offered to Kannon and to the general public. It is popularly believed that this water, being sacred, can cure ailments. The water from the well is actually gathered into two pots, one containing water from the previous year, and another containing water from all previous observances of the ceremony.
See also
*
Omizutori(お水取り)
References
Nara Todaiji Temple Shunie Ceremony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuni-E
Buddhist festivals in Japan