| O-Eshiki is a Buddhist festival commemorating Saint Nichiren, who passed away at Ikegami on October 13,1282. It is celebrated from 11th to 13th. Especially the festival reaches its height on the eve of October 13,or the night of 12th from 19:00 to 24:00, with parades of mando and of matoi (firemen's standards of the Edo period) accompanied by flutes and drums. The festival attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators. |
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Mando, which literally means “10,000 lanterns,”is something like a huge umbrella about 5 meters in height. In its original from it resembled a candle stand but has since become an elaborate structure built in the from of a five-story pagoda with the Daimoku (Namu-Myohorenge-Kyo) or pictures of Nichiren's life depicted on the side. Rows of artificial cherry blossoms are hung from the top, and the pagoda pole is lighted inside. On the night of October 12, scores of mando proceed among the crowds which jam the precincts of the Honmonji Temple. |
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| Nichiren founded Honmonji Temple (its sango, or official designation,is Choei-san or“ever-flourishing mountain”) just before his death at the request of Munenaka Ikegami of-fered 69,384 tsubo of land (about 210,000 square meters) which corresponds to the number of characters in the Lotus Sutra. |
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On March 15,1945, the temple was subjected to heavy bombing resulting in
th destruction of all the structures except the main gate,the five-story
pagoda, the Kyozo(a repository of Buddhist scriptures)and the Hoto(a pagoda).
The temple was completely reconstructed through contributions from followers
throughout the country.
Going up the front steps and walking through the Nio-mon (a gate with two
guar-dian gods), the visitor comes to the Soshido hall where the statue
of Nichiren is enshrined. This statue, the only embodiment of Nichiren
in the temple, was made by his disciples on the seventh anniversary of
his death.It is designated an important cultural property of Japan. Behind
this hall we find the Honden hall where Shakyamuni-Buddha and four bodhisattvas
are enshrined;ceremonail services are performed here. |
Behind the Honden is the octagonal Gobyo-sho (mausoleum) where the ashes
ofNichiren are enshrined; it was built on the occasion of the 700th anniversary
of his death.It is constructed entirely of hinoki Japanese cypress. The
five-story pagoda was built in 1608. It stands 29.4 meters high with a
45 centimeter
square beam running from the top to the second story in order to balance
the structure. It is constructed to withstand a magnitude seven earthquake.
The oldest five-story pagoda in Tokyo, it has been designated an important
cultural property of Japan. The Kyozo,built in 1784, houses all the Buddhist
scriptures in revolving hexagonal bookshelves.The Hoto was built on the
site where Nichiren was cremated.Rebuilt in 1830, it is the only structure
of its kind in Japan.
The history of Honmonji Temple stretches back some 700 years to its founding
by Nichiren. Along with Kuonji Temple at Minobu, the headquarters of the
Nichiren sect, Honmonji Temple rank as one of the major centers among the
sect's 5,000 temples. |
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