Hanamatsuri

The Buddhist observance of "Hanamatsuri" has been taking place in the Japanese American community since Issei (first generation Japanese Americans) immigrated to the United States. The Orange County Buddhist church will celebrate “Hanamatsuri" (Flower Festival), the Birthday of Gautama Buddha with special services, cultural exhibits, stage programs, food and carnival games! Japanese cultural exhibits will include handmade Kimekomi dolls, Koi Fish, Ikebana, Tea Ceremony, Sumi-E, Chigiri-E, Bonsai, Kimono display, and a special rooms displaying projects of the Dharma School and Japanese School children. Stage demonstrations include Nihon Buyo (Classical Dance), Minyo (Folk Song), Kendo, Aikido, Genbu-Kai Karate, Judo, and musical instruments such as Koto, and Orange County Buddhist Church's' own Taiko Drum Group! Good food and FUN for the whole family.

Saturday April 8, 2006

2:00pm till 8:30pm

Genbu-Kai Karate Demo at 6:30

Sunday April 9, 2006

2:00pm till 8:30pm

Genbu-Kai Karate Demo at 6:00

Hanamatsuri History

The melding of the Japanese Flower Festival of Hanamatsuri with the celebration of the Buddha's birth began around 600 CE. The original purpose of the Hanamatsuri festival was to encourage flowers such as the cherry blossom to stay in bloom. The agrarian people at that time thought that the longer the flowers blossomed in the spring, the more prosperous the harvest would be in the fall. The festival includes processions and the annual ritual, called "Kanbutsu", the bathing of the infant Buddha. A statue of the infant Buddha is placed in a pan and water or sweet tea is then poured over it to signify purification. This ritual is believed to have started in China. Statues of baby Buddhas have also been found in India. The significance of this ritual is thought to be that the baby Buddha was not yet enlightened, but after wandering for six years the Buddha became enlightened. In contrast to the baby Buddha statues used in the Kanbutsu ritual, the large Buddha statues such as the 48 foot Buddha in Todai-Ji temple Nara symbolize the enlightened Buddha. According to history, Buddha, Sakyamuni, was born in Nepal on April 8, 565 B.C. He was born the son of King Suddohana and Queen Maya. There are many beautiful descriptions of the scene at his birth, including celestial birds singing beautiful songs, beautiful flowers, and a sweet gentle rain bathing the baby Buddha. It is not necessarily the beauty of the flowers, the sounds of the celestial birds, nor the sweet gentle rain that fell, but the fact that on this day was born the greatest of sentient beings who became the Enlightened One, the Buddha. Happy 2571^st Birthday Buddha!