The leaves of mountain hydrangeas (yama-ajisai), which contain a natural sweetener, are used in Japan to make a sweet herbal tea called ama-cha (甘茶). Ama-cha is not widely drunk but has special meaning in Buddhism where it is poured over a statue of Buddha (and drunk by participants) to celebrate his birthday, thought to be April 8th (the 8th day of the fourth month in the old luni-solar calendar). This is known as kan-butsu-e (灌仏会) or the Buddha pouring/bathing ceremony. See here for a short video.
Regular snapshots of everyday life plus musings on Japanese culture and society for Japanese language learners and Japan lovers in general. Subscribe (on the right panel) for email notifications when a new post goes up. Comment (link below each post) or send questions and requests directly (right panel)
Monday, 12 June 2017
Hydrangeas and Bathing Buddha
The leaves of mountain hydrangeas (yama-ajisai), which contain a natural sweetener, are used in Japan to make a sweet herbal tea called ama-cha (甘茶). Ama-cha is not widely drunk but has special meaning in Buddhism where it is poured over a statue of Buddha (and drunk by participants) to celebrate his birthday, thought to be April 8th (the 8th day of the fourth month in the old luni-solar calendar). This is known as kan-butsu-e (灌仏会) or the Buddha pouring/bathing ceremony. See here for a short video.