Namu Amida Butsu

Traditionally, most markets in Japan were held on Buddhist temple grounds. In Kyoto, Hideyoshi moved the temples to a part of the city which was later known as "Tera-machi" (lit. "Temple Town) and if sort of became a fair ground. Today, Teramachi has 100-yen shops, a foriegn bookstore and still, countless numbers of shops selling Buddhist paraphernalia. You can still smell the incense from the remaining temples behind the shops as you walk up and down from Shijo to Sanjo.

I had mentioned once before that there is a temple fair in my neighborhood. I later learned that it is specifically a "Tedukuri-shi" or "handmade craft city" sort of fair. It's actually pretty popular - so much that I learned after going there religiously every month for the past year that it is actually in Lonely Planet Kyoto, where you can see an "alternative" side of the city, whatever that means. You do sorta see the Kyoto version of hippies there, complete with dreadlocks.

Still, you cannot ignore the fact that it is on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, named Chionji. I certainly couldn't ignore the temple (and the ichigo-daifuku, oh yum!) yesterday, as there were sounds like drums coming from inside. Usually, the shoji screens were open, but yesterday they were closed. I noticed other people going inside, so I took off my Uggs, climbed the steps and went inside.

Turns out, there was a Buddhist service going o, complete with acolytes, a head priest and other monks. Inside the dais, two monks and two higher level priests were cleaning the main statue (don't know who it was unfortunately, no information on Google Japan actually) and those parishioners on the inner part of the temple were drumming on these things like wooden frogs and chanting. I sat myself down on the tatami in the outer part of the hall, and tried to do seiza, but lasted less than 5 minutes. Still need to work on that. So I sat indian style, as straight and respectfully as I could.

At the end of the service, the monks and priests and parishioners came to where myself and the other spectators were sitting, and a huge Buddhist bracelet was produced. I sorta followed what was going on thinking it would be rude of me to leave. I can now say I have participated in a Buddhist service in preparation for the New Year. We all sat around the bracelet and with our hands under it, passed it around and around to the chant of "Namu Amida Butsu," the Nembutsu prayer.


That I recognized, and chanted along myself, so I think Chionji is part of the Pure Land sect. I am holding it the wrong way in the picture. My legs are in seiza in that picture, but I stayed that way during the whole thing, even with my knees creaking. People bowed their heads as the main bead passed through their hands - I did the same and hoped for a good new year.