Maybe you are already familiar with obon, a Japanese holiday during which people pay their respects to their family’s graves. But did you know that they also visit graves on two other days of the year? That celebration is called ohigan. Ohigan Is a Period for Remembrance Ohigan is celebrated twice a year on the…
The Shikoku Pilgrimage: Practical Tips and Anecdotes by Oliver Dunskus
Oliver Dunskus is a German national who spends most of his year being a marketing manager. However, he has an atypical hobby: spending a few weeks each year walking the most famous pilgrimage of Japan, on Shikoku island. Noticing the lack of practical guidebooks for western pilgrims, he wrote and released the first Shikoku pilgrimage…
The Japanese Shugendo Religion, Explained
Taichi Tani is a monk in a village in Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku Island. Although Shikoku is famous for its pilgrimage and numerous Shingon Buddhism temples, Mr. Tani’s temple is outside the pilgrimage route and from another tradition: Shugendo. Shugendo is a Japanese religion mixing Buddhism, Shinto, and Taoism. Ascetic training in the mountains is a central…
Zen and the Art of Eating: Appreciating Food through Mindfulness
Disclaimer: This article was produced in cooperation with byFood and contains affiliate links. Kokoro Media may earn a commission from purchases made via the byFood links featured throughout this article. I’m notorious for my perception of food and eating. In my youth, meals were often something that pulled me away from whatever activity or creative…
A Short Introduction to Jizo, a Japanese Bodhisattva
When traveling in Japan, you may see statues dressed in red cloth. They are representations of Jizo, the Buddhist divinity loved by most Japanese people! I, too, love them and would like to give you a brief introduction to their role and symbolism. The Roles of Jizo The Jizo Bodhisattva, “O-Jizo-san” in the Japanese honorific…
Obon: the Japanese Tradition of Visiting the Graves of Ancestors
Every year, for a few days before and after August 15, trains and tourist resorts overflow with people. Not only are hotels and flights expensive, but they also become fully booked well ahead of time. For the Japanese, this period is the peak of summer vacation. But this period, called obon, is also much more….
‘Becoming Like the Sky’: an Encounter with a Street Monk in Ginza
In Tokyo, Buddhist priests chanting sutras in the streets, with their traditional robes and straw hats, have become an exotic sight not only to foreign tourists but to Tokyoites too. Mr. Mochizuki has been practicing takuhatsu (religious mendicancy and sutra chanting) in the streets of Ginza for nine years.I had the opportunity to interview him…