TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
With All The Attention On Cherry Blossoms and Hanami, HANA-MATSURI, The Japanese Celebration Of Buddha`s Birthday On April 8th, Is Often Overlooked These Days (revisited)
8 April, 2021
With cherry blossom revelry down in the valley below, worshippers pour tea (AMACHA) over a TANJO BUTSU – a special Buddha image with one hand pointing up and another one down, used for celebrating April 8th – Buddha`s birthday
By Avi Landau
Through a break in the cloud-like canopy of cherry blossoms at Ueno park, I spotted it, up above on a hill, at the edge of The Ueno Kiyomizu Temple`s elevated veranda. A small pavilion, bedecked with flowers- and inside a small image of the Buddha. Despite the excited, pulsating throngs of cherry blossom enthusiasts pushing around me, I stopped for a moment to watch as someone took a dipper and poured a liquid over the little statue`s head. Then, in the middle of HANAMI, I remem