Annual Observances

April 1st to 3rd

This is an annual event in which the following services are held during the period:

April 1st

The annual memorial service to honor all Dharma teachers such as Prince Shōtoku, the Seven Masters, and other teachers who guided us on the path of Buddha-Dharma is held. The Celebration of the birth of Shinran is also held as a modern music service.

April 2nd

The annual memorial service to remember all who died in wars is held. It is an opportunity for us to renew our commitment to renouncing war and working toward the realization of world peace.

April 3rd

The annual memorial service for all deceased members of the gathering for maintaining the denomination (Sōzoku-kō) as well as for all those who had received confirmation (kikyō-shiki).

During the event period, a traditional Japanese meal with rice porridge is served in the Shōsei-en Garden.

Spring Higan Service

A week around the spring equinox in March

Autumn Higan Service

A week around the autumn equinox in September

The Higan Services are held during the equinox weeks in the spring and autumn. The term “Higan” means “the other shore,” which is used as a metaphor of the Buddha’s world or Pure Land, while our everyday life is referred to as “Shigan” or “this shore.” The original meaning of Higan is the Sanskrit term pāramitā, which means to reach the other shore or to perfect enlightenment. This service is the opportunity for us to reflect on our innermost wish to reach the Buddha’s world.

Yoshizaki is a coastal town in present-day Fukui prefecture where Rennyo (1415–1499), the eighth head priest of the Honganji, established a close-knit community of sharing the teaching of Jōdo Shinshū. In 1752, the Betsuin temple in Yoshizaki asked the mother temple in Kyoto to bring the scroll of Rennyo’s lifelike image (goei) to their temple for his memorial service held there. Since then, a group of followers and priests walk a distance of about 240 km (149 miles) between Kyoto and Yoshizaki carrying the Shōnin’s scroll every year. This tradition has been maintained for about 300 years.

After the opening service held at the Amida Hall of the mother temple on April 17th, the pilgrimage group sets out on the one-week journey to Yoshizaki carrying a portable shrine with Rennyo’s scroll inside, while stopping by at 68 local temples along the way. After they arrive at Yoshizaki, the memorial services for Rennyo Shōnin are held at the Betsuin for ten days from April 23rd to May 2nd. After the services are finished, the pilgrimage group sets out on their homeward journey to bring the Shōnin’s scroll back to Kyoto, while stopping by at 78 local temples along the way. The pilgrimage concludes with the closing service held at the Amida Hall on May 9th.

November 21st to 28th

Hōonkō, the gathering for repaying our debt of gratitude for Shinran Shōnin, is the most important event of the year for the followers of Jōdo Shinshū. It is an opportunity to express our gratitude for Shinran’s clarifying the essence of the Buddha’s teachings for all of us and to reflect on our lives through deepening our understanding of his teaching.

At the mother temple, the services of Hōonkō are held from November 21st through 28th, which is the date of Shinran’s death anniversary. During the week, the biography of Shinran is read ceremoniously in the evening of November 25th. The Hōonkō week reaches its climax in the final service held in the morning of November 28th. During the chanting of the service, the famous Bandō-bushi is performed, where the priests chant the nenbutsu and hymns at the top of their lungs while powerfully moving their bodies back and forth, from side to side.

December 20th

This is an annual cleaning of the halls, which has been widely recognized as a traditional year-end event of Kyoto. The followers from across the country and staff ministers of the mother temple gather together in the Founder’s Hall and Amida Hall, form a line at each hall, and beat the tatami mats with bamboo sticks they are holding while slowly moving forward together. Another group of participants use a huge fan that is about two meters wide to blow away the dust stired up by the beating. After the cleaning, there is a special ceremony called “oki-shiki” where the Abbot makes a gesture of writing a kanji character “ju,” a part of the word muryōju (Immeasurable Life), with a long bamboo stick on the protective paper curtains hung in front of the altar. This ceremony signifies the fresh start of the upcoming services.