Fenollosa, Ernest Francisco
(1853-1908) American artist and early convert to Buddhism
Ernest Francisco Fenellosa, one of the first Americans to convert to Buddhism, was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts. He later graduated from Harvard (1874) and did postgraduate studies at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Having received an invitation to teach at the Imperial University in Tokyo, in 1878 he moved to Japan. His students would include many of the next generation of Buddhism’s leadership.
Once in Japan, he studied Buddhist art and architecture, many aspects of which were being neglected because of the anti-Buddhist atmosphere of the Meiji regime. He worked with several prominent artists to revive the Nihonga (Japanese) style of painting and in 1886 helped found the Tokyo Fine Arts Academy and the Imperial Museum (for which he served as the director for a brief period).
Along the way Fenollosa converted to Buddhism and assumed the name Tei-Shin. He also on occasion referred to himself as Kano Yeitan Masanobu, suggesting that he had been admitted into the ancient Japanese art academy of the Kano. Fenollosa’s main accomplishments welded his interest in Buddhism and art. For example, he inventoried Japan’s national treasures (which included many Buddhist items), for which the emperor of Japan honored him. In 1886, Fenol-losa sold his art collection to a colleague who deposited it at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Four years later, Fenellosa returned to the united States as the museum’s curator of oriental art. His outstanding career at the museum was brought to an abrupt end in 1895 by a public scandal accompanying his divorce.
He returned to Japan to teach for three years and then spent the rest of his life writing and lecturing on Buddhism and Japanese art. After his death in 1908, his widow and his colleague Ezra Pound compiled his notes into some of his most notable books, including the two-volume Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art. Though widely read when published, the book was full of errors that unfortunately detracted from Fenellosa’s importance in stimulating Western interest in Asian art.
Festivals, Buddhist
Festivals are a major aspect of Buddhist religious practice. The commemoration of the Buddha and his major disciples through rituals and festivals probably began as soon as the Buddha’s PARIN-IRVANA, or death, around 417 b.c.e. Although the Buddha had specifically warned against practices that deified his person, the urges to remember, to honor, and to worship this unique figure could not be stopped. Today the festivals of Buddhism, those days of commemoration and celebration that punctuate the calendars, have merged into the cultural landscape in all Buddhist cultures.
Festivals of Buddhism are present in all the cultures deeply influenced by Buddhism—a belt of countries stretching from Japan to Indonesia to Nepal, and most countries in between. These festivals can be categorized into five main types. First, some days commemorate Buddhas and bod-hisattvas, of which the most obvious is Wesak, or the Buddha’s birthday, a national holiday in at least 10 Asian countries.
Second, similar days are set aside to commemorate well-known cultivators and patriarchs of the Buddhist tradition. Such days as Zen’s Bodhidharma Day and Nichiren Buddhism’s June Assembly reflect the unique history of Buddhist traditions in each country.
Third, a set of more localized celebrations reflect preexisting local practices before the entry of Buddhism, as well as Buddhist-inspired events. These festivals are usually confined to a country, province, or even single city or shrine; for instance, the Aoi Festiva, a Shinto event held every May 15 at Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, is said to be the oldest festival in the world. In these festivals we can see the presence of other traditions that have been integrated with Buddhist practice.
Fourth, another set of festivals are held for particular purposes, for instance, festivals that involve opening new temples or Buddha images, festivals of purification, and festivals of initiation. Such festive events mix religious ceremony and purpose with local customs and needs (and are not discussed here, unless they coincide with other festival days).
Fifth, a final category are festive events tied to the sangha, the community of monks and nuns. As a unique form of social organization that has endured for more than 2,000 years, the sangha naturally has many special occasions that relate to life within it.
The major festivals common to most Buddhist traditions begin with the single most popular festival: the Buddha’s birthday. Note that in discussing Buddhist festivals all dates are lunar calendar dates, unless specifically noted as solar calendar dates.
WESAK AND OTHER DAYS COMMEMORATING SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA’S LIFE
Buddha’s birthday is perhaps the most widely celebrated festival in Buddhist cultures. It is generally called Wesak (Vesak), or Visakah Puja, "ritual of Viskah," reflecting the month of the Buddha’s birth according to the Indian calendar. It is celebrated on the full moon in (lunar) May in many countries. In the Chinese calendar it is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. The event commemorated was the Buddha’s birth to Maya, his biological mother, in the park at Lum-BINI, under a tree. The infant is said to have immediately stood up, raised his right hand, and sworn to give solace to all suffering beings.
Additional holidays reflect key events in the Buddha’s life. The first is his moment of enlightenment. Although this event is normally assumed to have happened while the Buddha meditated under the banyan tree, there are varying traditions. In Thailand he is said to have achieved enlightenment when he watched ploughing work by his father’s side—when he was seven. This event is commemorated with the Ploughing Festival in the first part of the fifth month. In this celebration two white oxen pull a gold plough. They are followed by four girls dressed in white who throw rice seeds. This Thai festival, called Raek Na, is clearly also related to the beginning of the planting season, just prior to the rains.
The Chinese celebrate various events in the Buddha’s life beginning with the Buddha’s enlightenment on the eighth day of the 12th month. The Buddha’s renunciation day, recalling the day he renounced his status and privileges as a prince and lord and gave up family as well as power, is celebrated in Chinese cultures on the eighth day of the second month. On the 15 th of the second month, the Chinese acknowledge the Buddha’s parinirvana, his final extinction and departure after 80 years of life.
While Mahayana and vajrayana (Tantric) cultures celebrate the four key dates in the Buddha’s career as separate days, Theravada countries generally believe that all four days occurred on the same day and so celebrate only Buddha Day (Visakha Puja).
Festivals, China
Beyond those festivals common to Buddhism internationally, a variety of Buddhist festivals are unique to or had their greatest development in China and in the modern period have been exported to Chinese communities around the world. Many of the Buddhist-related festivals are directly related to one of the bodhisattvas so prominent in Pure Land and other schools of Chinese Buddhism. For example, the Buddha Maitreya has symbolic importance in Chinese culture as he represents hope and renewal for the future. Maitreya Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on the first day of the first (lunar) year. The major bodhisattva-related festivals are discussed here.
MAHASTHAMAPRAPTA’S (BODHISATTVA OF GREAT POWER)’S BIRTHDAY
Mahasthamaprapta (in Japanese, Seishi Bosatsu) is one of the bodhisattvas associated with Amitabha’s Western Paradise. She is most often depicted as the assistant to Amitabha, along with Avalokitesvara. The three are known as the Three Saints of the Western Paradise. Mahasthamaprapta’s halo of wisdom permeates all creation. She is often seen in feminine form, with a jeweled water vase in her crown. Mah-asthamaprapta’s birthday is celebrated on the 13th of the seventh month in the Chinese calendar.
SAMANTABHADRA’S (UNIVERSAL WORTHY’S) BIRTHDAY
Samantabhadra is normally depicted riding on a white elephant. Along with Manjusri and Sakya-muni Buddha, Samantabhadra makes up the three lead characters in the massive Flower Garland Sutra, one of the great works of Mahayana literature. Samantabhadra is particularly associated with Dharma practice—that is, the efforts and focus needed to follow one’s religious obligations. Simply stated, he symbolizes the spirit of Mahayana. He is said to reside on Mt. Emei in Sichuan province, one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism. In the Chinese tradition Samantabhadra’s birthday is celebrated on the 21st day of the second month, two days after Guan Yin’s.
GUAN YIN’S (THE GODDESS OF MERCY’S) BIRTHDAY
There are in fact three key days associated with Guan Yin: her birthday on the 19th of the second month, her enlightenment day on the 19th of the sixth month, and her renunciation day—when she become a nun—on the 19th of the ninth month.
These three days are celebrated most seriously on Mt. PuTuo, the island off China’s east coast with which Guan Yin is most often associated. On these days there is a huge influx of pilgrims, in the tens of thousands, as befits the days celebrating the best known figure in Buddhism. Celebrations at the three main temples on Mt. Putuo take place over three days. These celebrations date back at least to the Sui dynasty (581-617 c.e.); they are recorded in a stone stele (carved memorial) found on Mt. Wutai, in the Hu Guang Temple, that dates from that period. The stele records that Guan Yin transformed herself into a monk and subdued an evil dragon on Mt. Putuo. A temple was built to commemorate this event, and on the 19th day of the sixth month a series of wonderful apparitions appeared in the sky.
MANJUSRI’S BIRTHDAY
Manjusri, the symbol of great wisdom, is usually depicted riding on a lion, holding in his hand a sword symbolizing the sharpness of his discrimination. As mentioned previously, Manjusri along with Samantabhadra and Sakyamuni make up the "Three Saints of the Flower Garland."
Manjusri is said to manifest himself on Mt. Wutai, in China’s Shanxi Province. The many Buddhist temples on Mt. Wutai hold two major celebrations. The first, the Assembly of the Sixth Month, is a time of pilgrimage visits. The second, in the fourth month, involves four days of rituals in 10 of the largest temples. This ritual cycle coincides with Manjusri’s birthday on the fourth day of the fourth lunar month.
In Japan the celebrations in honor of Manjusri can be traced to the ninth century c.e. His veneration is still practiced in the Manjusri Assembly in Japan. Since Manjusri is said to transform himself in the guise of beggars, food and drink are prepared on this day to feed all beggars, and the names of Manjusri and the Medicine Buddha are recited 100 times each, each day. This traditional ritual is performed today in only two temples.
ULLAMBANA (RELEASE FROM SUFFERING) FESTIVAL
Ullambana is the Sanskrit name for the occasion on the 15th day of the seventh month when the human and ghostly realms are connected. The original story of Ullambana’s origin is given in the Ullambana Sutra. In that sutra the Buddha, out of compassion for the suffering of those condemned to suffering in hell, explains the path of salvation to his disciple Maudgalyayana (in Chinese, Mu Lian). The method of salvation is to make food offerings on the 15th of the seventh month to seven generations of one’s ancestors. The festival symbolized a time of making offerings to all the dead. Since Maudgalyayana became a bodhisattva, the ullambana festival, as the others under discussion, is closely affiliated with a bodhisattva.
KSHITIGARBHA’S BIRTHDAY
The bodhisattva Kshitigarbha (in Japanese, Jizo) is normally depicted as a monk, with a monk’s shaved head, holding a staff and a precious stone. He is popularly associated with saving the souls of those suffering in hell; in fact he can appear at any place in the six realms of existence, to any being (including nonhumans) who calls on him. His place of "residence"—where he is most often sited—is Mt. Jiu Hua in China’s Anhui Province, one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism. His main temple there is Hua Cheng Temple, which was founded in 401 c.e.
Kshitigarbha’s birthday is celebrated throughout East Asia on the first day of the eighth lunar month (some celebrate on the last day of the seventh month).
AMITABHA’S BIRTHDAY
Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, is celebrated on the 17th day of the 11th month. Along with Guan Yin, Amitabha is the best known Buddhist figure in Mahayana, including Tibetan Buddhism. Amitabha’s vow is to establish the Western Paradise, the most sublime environment for cultivation, in order to assist all beings in the quest to realize perfect enlightenment.
Festivals, Japan
Buddhist-inspired festivals can be found everywhere in Japan; there are at least 100 major events in the Buddhist calendar. Most of these relate to local temples or specific schools and are not national in scope. Nevertheless, the variety of Buddhist events reflects the importance of Buddhism in Japan’s history, especially the medieval period, in which Buddhist ideas dominated cultural expression. We summarize the major Buddhist festivals in the following, as well as some more specialized or local festivals of note.
NEW YEAR’S AND SETSUBUN
The most important holiday in modern Japan is January first, a chance to clean house and dress up. There is little religious significance. However, the advent of the traditional, lunar-based year is still celebrated in the Setsubun (the Bean Throwing Ceremony), celebrated today on February 3 (solar). Setsubun celebrates the establishment of spring, as well as the exorcism of wandering spirits. There was an ancient belief that ghosts wandered the streets at night in the new season. The Spring Assembly is an exorcism performed before their arrival. The ceremony was originally performed on New Year’s Eve by the imperial court. In the performance some actors took on the role of blue and red ghosts, who were chased by the others. Beans were also thrown around the ground to ward off devils. The festival gradually spread into the general populace. People today throw roasted soybeans in and around their homes, intoning, "In with good luck, out with devil." This is a ceremony to drive out demons. In shrines and temples well-known celebrities perform the same actions.
Another feature of Setsubun in many households is to put food out for the Mother Deity, Hariti. The traditional legend is that Hariti was a demon who ate the children of humans, until finally her own child was hidden by the Buddha. From that point she became a disciple of the Buddha.
Spring Assembly festivals are held at many Shingon temples in Japan, such as Hoko-ji and Eifuku-ji in Nara.
HIGAN (PARAMITA, EQUINOCTIAL WEEK)
There are two Higan festivals, each lasting seven days, to mark the spring and fall equinoxes. Today the spring festival (Shunbun no Hi) is celebrated during the seven days surrounding the 20th of March (solar). The fall festival (Shubun no Hi) falls around the 23rd of September. These two days have been made into official holidays in the secular calendar, the first to commemorate the environment, the second to respect ancestors.
OBON
The festival of all souls, Bon or Obon, corresponds to the Ullambana festival popular in China. In this period people make bonfires to lead spirits to visit their homes. Many people visit their hometowns during Bon. This is because in Japan the ullambana festival has become associated almost exclusively with veneration of ancestors. It normally takes place from the 13th to the 16th of the seventh lunar month. Processions are mounted at the beginning to greet the ancestors and, at the end of the celebration, to send them off on their return journeys. The Daimonji Yaki (Okuribi; Great Bonfire Event) held at Kyoto during this period (discussed later) is a variation on the practice of lighting bonfires; in the Daimonji Yaki giant written characters are lit on the mountainsides.
On the day before the festival most areas in Japan perform Flower Dances along with fireworks. Shoro Nagashi (Floating of Lighted Lanterns) is held at the end of the Obon festival period. On the 15th of August (lunar) the floating lanterns guide spirits back to their proper place, the realm of the dead. Small candles are set on small boats and sent onto rivers or the sea.
KAMBUTSUE (BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY ASSEMBLY)
The Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. The celebration in Japan dates from 606 c.e. Flowers are arranged in a dragon line that symbolizes Lumbini, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment. A Buddha figure is placed in the center and, during worship, sprinkled with sweetened tea water.
JUNE ASSEMBLY
This festival held on June fourth generally commemorates Saicho, the founder of the Japanese Tendai school. However, another June Assembly is held to commemorate Nichiren, founder of Nichiren Buddhism.
SENNICHIKEI (THOUSAND DAYS TEMPLE VISIT)
This celebration originally meant visiting the temple (or shrine) on 1,000 consecutive days. Later it was shortened to one day, which, however, had the same efficacy. The festival is held on different days for different temples; on those days the number of visitors is massive.
BUDDHA’S NAMES ASSEMBLY
This three-day ritual was imported from China and began in the imperial household in 774 c.e. In the ritual all past, present, and future names of the Buddha are recited as an act of confession to remove the collected karmic burdens accumulated over the previous year. The ritual soon spread to outside temples and was performed on the 15 th to the 17th day of the 12th lunar month. It was later moved to the 19th through the 21st, and, finally, shortened to one day. It is today performed in only a handful of Buddhist temples.
THOUSAND LANTERNS ASSEMBLY
Several Buddhist scriptures such as the Bodhisat-tva Sutra mention the benefit of lighting lanterns to worship and commemorate confession. The lights symbolize the brightness of enlightenment. The ritual has roots in India and was popular in China as well as Japan. In Japan the first recorded procession occurred in 651 C.E. In Japan the celebration has become a major part of most temples’ calendars, as will be apparent in the regional listing that follows. The four processions at Todai-ji are particularly well known.
JIZO’S BIRTHDAY
The bodhisattva Jizo (in Chinese, Kshitigarbha) is popularly associated with saving the souls of those suffering in hell; in fact, he can appear at any place in the six realms of existence, to any being (including nonhumans) who calls on him. Jizo’s birthday is celebrated throughout East Asia on the first day of the eighth lunar month (some celebrate on the last day of the seventh month). The practice of celebrating Jizo’s birthday was imported from China to Japan. In Japan the 24th of every lunar month is Jizo’s day, and the 24th of the seventh month is the assembly in his honor. Today the largest celebration is held on the 23rd and 24th of the eighth month in Kyoto and greater Kansai.
To this day lectures are held on the 24th of each month, particularly in the Kansai region of western Japan. These lectures predominantly focus on prayers for the welfare of children, in line with Jizo’s role as protector of children.
REGIONAL FESTIVALS
A sampling of the many regional festivals in Japan would include the following:
Wakakusayama Yama Yaku Turf burning opposing monks burn the ground on hills above Wakakusayama. This ritual began as a dispute between two neighboring temples.
Hadaka Matsuri In late February at the Saidaiji Temple, Okayama, young men dressed only in fundoshi (loincloths) rush into the temple and plunge themselves into the nearby Yoshii River. At midnight they compete to find a pair of shingi (sacred wands) thrown into the night darkness.
Omizutori (Sacred Water-Drawing) At Todai-ji Temple, Nara, to mark the arrival of spring, participants are bathed in the sparks from torches. This is said to give protection against evil. Priests then offer water from a sacred well to Kannon, the goddess of mercy. This ceremony is part of the Todai-ji monks’ training program, the Shunie.
Awashima-jinja Nagashi-bina (Doll-floating Ceremony) Held at Awashima jinja (shrine) in Wakayama in early March, the ceremony sends Hina dolls, made from clay and paper, to sea in small boats. The traditional explanation is that ailments or impurities are transferred to the figures, and with offerings the problems are resolved. The act also protects from calamities. Not particularly Buddhist, this ceremony is a fascinating parallel to the Thai ceremony of casting small boats to sea (see festivals, Theravada cultures).
The Awashima-jinja Nagashi-bina is a type of Tenjin Matsuri. Such celebrations involve sending a fleet of decorated boats to sea. The goal is to prevent plague and disease. The Gion and other festivals with elaborate float processions (discussed later) also spring from this tradition.
Takayama Matsuri This spring festival in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, involves a procession of 12 large wagon floats with intricate decorations. Many include puppets. Along with the Gion Festival from Kyoto and the Chichibu Night Festival from Saitama—all processions of floats—this festival is of interest because of similarities with the Tibetan Butter Lamp Festival. It is held April 14-15.
Dojou-ji Temple Kane Kuyo (Requiem Service) This honors a legend in which a princess becomes a snake and burns a priest using a kane (bell). It takes place on April 27 at Dojo-ji in Wakayama.
Takigi Noh (Open-air Noh Drama) Held May 11-12 at Kofukuji in Nara, this drama is performed on a stage near a shrine. This practice harks back to the close relationship that previously existed between religion and drama, with stages often set up in temple grounds. Another Noh-related festival is held at the Heian Jingu in Kyoto on June 1.
Gion Matsuri
Held at the Yasaka Jinja in Kyoto, this festival lasts for one month in June. Twenty-nine floats are built on frames, seven large and 22 small. These are decorated with lanterns and traditional motifs.
Nachi no Himatsuri
Held at Kumanonachi taisha in Wakayama, the Nachi no Himatsuri is a ceremony involving a staged confrontation between two groups in front of the shrine: 12 priests carrying torches and 12 carrying portable shrines.
Asakusa Kannon Yonman rokusen nichi (Hozuku Ichi) (46,000 Days) At the Senso-ji Temple, in Tokyo, each visitor’s prayer is said to equal 46,000 normal visits to the same temple. The Hozuki (ground cherry) fair is held nearby.
Daimon-ji Yaki (Okuribi; Great Bonfire Event) Held in Kyoto on August 16, this is a variation of the Nagashi, rituals of cleansing. A fire is lit over five mountains, each fire spelling out one large kanji (Chinese written character). A similar fire ceremony is held at the beginning of obon.
Shunie (Second Month Assembly) This ceremony held at Nara’s Todai-ji Temple involves reciting one’s faults and sins in front of the 11-faced Kannon (Guan Yin) figure. The formal name is the Second Month Eleven-Faced Confessional Assembly. The ceremony is old, with the first recorded performance in 809 c.e. It is held today in March.
Festivals, Mongolia
Many Mongolian festivals such as the Naadam and Sagaalgan (the White Moon Festival, New Year) are not specifically Buddhist. However, festivals played a key role in the spread of Buddhism from Tibet into Mongolia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of the Buddhist festivals involved ritual dances, called tsam, that exorcised evil.
The Transformation of Maidar (Maitreya) Festival honoring Maitreya is described in a separate entry.
