Akkun’s FOCUS vol.10
Dragon dance: Shishi mai during Japanese traditional festival
When all things went wrong, we need a change. If it is not a big deal, then a cup of tea or a glass of wine might work daily. But if the problems were serious, what would you do?
In Japan, Dragon dance or Shishi mai in Japanese, would work to make everything positive again. The dance purifies the whole town and people’s mind for the better future. It prevents or cleans pandemic, bad luck, fire, incidents, etc. all the negative factors in society.
The origin seems to have been very long time ago, in 1st century China, then introduced to Japan via Koria. The south Asian countries have similar dragon dancing. In Nagasaki, there’s a dynamic dragon dancing during the festival which is closer to the Chinese one.
If Shishi mai dancers come close to you, you are suppose to let your head bite which means exorcism. Usually, mothers like to let her babies head bite by the dragon for the babies’ health and happiness. As you assume, the babies hate it. Therefor it becomes a common scenery during the festival that lot of crying babies are in front of Shishi mai. People laugh at it and feel much better by watching it.
Dragon dance is also welcome to the opening ceremony of a store of new house to purify the new location. It discourages all the evil spirits around the place.
Shishi mai hit a period on Covid 19. Whatever we have in future, as far as we keep Dragon dance tradition, we must be all right. Why don’t you join Japanese autumn festivals?
Akkun’s FOCUS vol.9
Buddhist monk Kukai, the religious superstar in Japan
Kukai is the name of a famous Buddhist monk who founded Mt.Koya:Koya-san. It literally means“Sky and Sea”. Kukai’s heart was BIG just like his name. He lived in 8～9thcentury and people believe that Kukai is still alive and meditating in Mt.Koya.
He was born in Shikoku island. He studied in Nara, the capital of Japan at the time to become a bureaucrat.
But he was not interested in government official life. He eventually targeted at esoteric Buddhism.
Kukai meditated, abstained from food often, trained in deep mountain areas of Shikoku and Kii peninsula.
One day he came across one sutra which showed the way to attain the enlightenment. It tells the secret to know the fundamental essence of esoteric Buddhism.
Kukai went to China to study more of it. In China, Monk Keika was waiting for someone suitable as his successor. When Keika met Kukai, the old master knew that he finally found the right person as his successor.
Kukai came back to Japan to save all the spirits of this country and worked hard only for this purpose. One day he stopped taking food completely and moved on to the stage of eternal meditation.
Once a monk came into his meditation room. Kukai was alive. His face was shiny and kept pinkish colour and his black hair became 10m long behind him・・・
In Koya-san, Odaishi-sama, the nickname of Kukai, stays there on rainy days. People still feel Kukai’s life and work closely and directly through their pilgrimage with hope and appreciation. Kukai seems to be beyond the religious barrier, since his philosophy might have included Christianity in Tang dynasty.
