Historical parade in the neighbourhood

Every neighbourhood has their local shrine and temple. Remember the difference: a shrine is for the Shinto (native) religion, and a temple is Buddhism.

Check my page here (Religion in Japan) for a little more information on the difference.

Additionally, you could read my article I wrote here too - What Lurks in the Woods.

This morning, 50 monks travelled to our quiet neighbourhood to partake in a ceremony at our temple.

Most of the monks were waiting in the temple, but a handful took part in a roughly 200m procession to the temple.

I am still not quite sure what the significance of the event is, but it is reported to only occur once every 40 years.

I do know that at today's event, our local monk (the man in purple above) was going to be "tested" publicly by one of his superiors from a head temple.

Before entering the temple, they lit incense outside and performed some kind of welcoming chant. As soon as that was finished, the taiko drum started, along with a bell here and there, and the procession moved inside the main hall of the temple. Locals would not be able to fit inside the hall to witness the proceedings, so they had chairs under tents erected outside with a few TV screens showing what was happening.

It's nice to see these age old traditions and rituals continuing despite the changing values of modern life. We're also glad the kids could witness this, as uneventful as it may seem, ritual while they're young too.