(Note: Though Buddhist, the celebration of Hana Matsuri has adopted enough Shinto aspects that it was considered worth including here.)

     According to legend, Prince Gautama (known to us as the Enlightened One  or Buddha) was born on April 8th around 446 BC. The story goes that when he was born the earth shook as sweet nectar and flowers fell from the heavens.  Soon after his birth he is said to have pointed to the heavens with his right forefinger, to the earth with his left, and proclaimed; “I am my own lord throughout Heaven and Earth!”  This day has since been celebrated as Hana Matsuri, the “Flower Festival.”
 

Images of the naked infant Buddha, proclaiming the essence of the Buddhist doctrine and pointing skyward, can be seen all over Japan every year on his birthday and posters of the precocious Buddha-child are always pasted-up in every neighborhood weeks earlier, calling the people to come to their local temple for celebrations on April 8th. On that day small statues of infant Buddha, some of them ornate and quite old, are placed in the center of a tray filled with sweet tea in miniature shrines, looking like small Buddhist temples covered in various flowers are called, accurately enough,  hana mido or “flower temples.” These flower decked shrines are said to represent the garden of Lumbini in Nepal where the Buddha was born. In earlier times twelve flowers were specifically used to decorate them, each representing a different month of the year.

Children's mikoshi procession.

Priest banishes all evil  from worshippers  before Matsuri.

The sweet tea that surrounds the statue and which sits in a pot next to it is called amacha. This liquid, supposedly the same  nectar which  fell so long ago from heaven, is brewed from the leaves of the hydrangea bush which grows in the mountains. It is interesting to note that before sugar was introduced into Japan, amacha was boiled down into a thick syrup and used as a sugar substitute.       On Hana Matsuri, Buddhists approach the hana mido, bow to the small statue of the pointing infant, and then pour a small amount of amacha over the image with a dipper while offering prayers and offerings. This ritual is called kambutsue, the “Buddha-Baptizing Ceremony,” and it is said to give special merit to those who practice it. Some people claim that a prayer offered to the Buddha at a temple on Hana Matsuri is effectively the same as a thousand devotional visits made on normal days! When the worshipper is ready to leave the temple, the priest often gives him or her a small amount of the blessed tea to take home.

Floats entering town  on festival day.

     The ritual of kambutsue seems to have first been performed in 606 AD at Genkoji Temple, Yamoto Prefecture. This was almost certainly under the instigation of the one person who did more to introduce and spread Buddhism in Japan than anyone else, Prince Shotoku (574-622 AD). Though Buddhism originally entered Japan through what is today Korea, it was the influence of the cultural and religious contacts between Japan and the Sui Dynasty of China that helped this alien faith truly take root and grow, with imperial help and encouragement. Along with the tenets, scriptures, customs and art of Buddhism imported into Japan came the kambutsue ceremony. This ritual was (and still is) observed all over Southeast Asia, though with some differences. It seems that originally perfume was poured over the image of Buddha in lieu of tea and in many countries, like Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, it still is.
 

Worshippers carrying the mikoshi.

During Hana Matsuri quiet Buddhist temples all over Japan become the center for a number of other festive activities. Some sponsor special dances, dramas and processions. Sometimes the hana mido is carried about the town or village by flower-decked worshipers like a mikoshi (a portable Shinto shrine). Other temples hold special services and public readings of special sutras or holy texts. Food offerings, such as rice-cakes and vegetables, are made with great pomp to all images of the Buddha and to Buddhist Guardian Gods. Some of these rituals are also quite spectacular, especially at the larger temples like Hoganji Temple in Kyoto and  Todaji Temple in Nara. In Tokyo, the best places to catch Hanamatsuri are Sensoji, Zojoji, Gokokuji and Jindaiji Temples. One of the more interesting spots is Hibya Park, where Buddhists from all different sects meet for the festival ever year.

Blessing at a shrine.

     Blossoms are everywhere during  Hana Matsuri: on the hana mido, carried by costumed revelers, sold in pots and garlands to festival goers, and filling temples everywhere you look. Thus maybe it is no suprise that this festival also marks the beginning of Ohanami, a more secular and, in its way, even more spectacular festive period that is enjoyed all over Japan in early to mid April.  Ohanami (“blossom viewing time”) is when the true spirit of Japan erupts and the normal reserve of a majority of the population disappears. During this time every spot under every blooming cherry tree is filled to capacity with singing, feasting and drinking revelers. 
 

Family in Ueno Park  under the sakura for  Ohanami.

It’s not uncommon for companies to reserve special areas under the sakura (cherry) trees for their employees. Sake flows like water, food is plentiful, and when the portable karaoke machines start going it is really quite a scene. The general Ohanami insanity lasts as long as the blossoms do, usually a couple of weeks. The wildest places to observe the raucus picnicking masses are public parks and cemeteries, as odd as the latter might sound. After all, why not share the fun with your ancestors?      Some of the most popular spots in Tokyo are Ueno Park, Sumida Park (along the Sumida River in Asakusa) and Shinjuku Park. Anyone and everyone is welcome to bring picnic paraphanalia, claim a scenic spot and sit back and enjoy the festive spirit of “cherry blossom viewing” as long as it lasts.      Like most of the pleasures in life, Ohanami  is soon over. Then, as quickly as the petals blow away, so do the parties and it is once again business-as-usual in Japan.

Two shots of an Ohanami Party.