Hanamatsuri: Buddhists’ celebration of Buddha’s birth, Apr. 7-8
Cultural News, March 2007
Buddhists are pouring sweet tea over the statue of Buddha as Buddha’s birth celebration ritual. (Courtesy of the Los Angeles Buddhist Church Federation)
April is the month of the Los Angeles Buddhist Church Federation’s Hanamatsuri Celebration in honor of Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth. Every year, the celebration is held in Little Tokyo and everyone is invited again this year to celebrate this festive occasion.
This year’s kickoff event is the annual Hanamatsuri Golf Tournament on Friday, March 30 at the California Country Club. The proceeds raised will go to support the annual Buddhist summer camp for children sponsored by the Los Angeles Buddhist Coordinating Council.
The annual Hanamatsuri Little Tokyo Clean-up will be held on Saturday, March 31. It is Buddhists’ small effort to benefit their immediate community as well as to clean up the area in preparation of their main celebration the following weekend.
One of the highlights of this year’s celebration is the evening program on Saturday, April 7. Koto player June Kuramoto returns to Hanamatsuri to perform a benefit concert to raise funds for the Buddhist Federation’s Disaster Relief Fund and to support it’s ongoing activities.
Koto player June Kuramoto
The concert featuring June Kuramoto and Friends, and entitled GRATITUDE, will be held at the Nishi Hongwanji Kaikan in Little Tokyo and will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for $15 and can be purchased at any of the temples of the Federation.
Born in Japan, raised in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, June Kuramoto epitomizes America’s evolving art and music culture. As a child, she longed to return to Japan and found comfort in playing an ancient Japanese instrument, the koto. Almost by destiny, a renowned koto master, the Madame Kazue Kudo, protégé of one of Japan’s most famous kotoist/composer, Michio Miyagi, also immigrated to the United States and began teaching koto in June’s family home. Using her grandmother’s koto, June, at age seven, found a “connection” to her life in the instrument and music. She has subsequently received her classical koto degrees from the Miyagi School of Koto in Tokyo, Japan.
The main Hanamatsuri Celebration also to be held at Nishi Hongwanji will be on Sunday, April 8 beginning at 11 am. The colorful and traditional service will be conducted by the priests of the Los Angeles Buddhist Church Federation.
The afternoon event this year will be an Interfaith Panel Discussion following the success of last year’s program. Under the theme, The Meaning of our Birth – Perspectives from Various Religious Traditions, representatives from major religions will share their understanding of human life, exploring ways in which people can bring harmony to their lives and to the world.
The moderator will be Mr. Michael Kerze who is one of the leading facilitators of Interfaith dialogue, and the panelists will include Rev. Dickson Yagi representing the Christian faith, Dr. Amir Hussain, professor at Loyola Marymount University, to represent the Islam community, and Rev. Alfred Tsuyuki of the Konko Church of Los Angeles representing the Shinto tradition. Light refreshments and lunch will be available during the lunch break.
In addition, the Children’s Art Contest and Hanamatsuri Photo Contest will also be held as in past years.
For more information, please call Nishi Hongwanji Temple at (213) 680-9130 or Higashi Honganji Temple at (213) 626-4200 or email to info@hhbt-la.org.
The events for this year are listed below – all events (except for the Golf Tournament and Concert) are free and open to the public.
March 30, 8:00 a.m. Hanamatsuri Golf Tournament – California Country Club
March 31, 9:00 a.m. Little Tokyo Clean-up – meet at Higashi Honganji parking lot
April 7, 7:00 p.m. Hanamatsuri Commemorative Concert – Nishi Hongwanji Kaikan - June Kuramoto and Friends - GRATITUDE
April 8, 11:00 a.m. Hanamatsuri Celebration Service – Nishi Hongwanji
April 8, 1:00 p.m. Hanamatsuri Panel Discussion – Nishi Hongwanji