Omizutori Japanese

Festival Omizutori Japanese Version of Spring Meetings

In the world annually hosts many festivals dedicated to the arrival of spring. Revere this time of year in Japan, and therefore satisfied Omizutori Festival, considered the oldest in the country. He passes in the first half of March in the city of Nara, which houses the world's largest Buddha statue.

Spring, which should bring peace, happiness and a good harvest in these parts monks for over a thousand years of a specific encounter ritual, consisting in a two-week prayer.

The main event of the festival is considered a ceremony of Water and Fire, whose founder is considered Kasho. According to legend, the monk during the pilgrimage has seen in 751 performing ceremonies of repentance gods in the mountains. He was so shocked by such beauty that he decided to teach her and humanity.

Part of this ceremony is a series of Buddhist rituals, the main condition of which is the use of fire and water. Passing this ceremony, as if a man is born again, cleansed from all defilement, and atoned for all our sins.

Start ceremony necessarily occur at night. Immediately, after the sun sets in the so-called X hour. Eleven priests with lighted huge pine torches in their hands, the size of which can reach eight meters, begin to spin, so that, across the hall to Scatter embers, and all the temple is filled with light. The duration of this ceremony, just as the size of the torches may change every day.

Here believe that the blessed will be the one person who was lucky enough to hit him at least a small piece of the coals, because then we can assume that he caught the tail of luck.

Last ritual monks carried out near the well, which is under do. They must have time to take him out of the water, because of superstition, it appears in this well once a year. Scooping up water, the monks must first offer it to the Goddess of Mercy, and only then drink himself. The final step is the pouring of water in the two vessels, one of which will be stored water last year, and the second - in previous years.