The shunie ceremony, which means "the ceremony of February" in Japanese, is part of a series of Buddhist rituals in which eleven priests, called rengyoshu, confess their sins and defilement through prayer to the eleven headed god Kannon.  Once their sins are confessed, the eleven priests pray for Japan's prosperity and world piece.  This ancient religious festival dates back to A.D. 752, and has been practiced for more than 1200 years.  It is held annually from March 1st until the 14th (based on the Gregorian Calendar, but is actually held in February according to the lunar calendar) at the Todaiji temple in Nara City, Japan. The festival is symbolic of spring's arrival which promptly follows the ceremony, and is comprised of the ceremony of fire and the ceremony of water.

The Todaiji Temple:

The Tojaiji Temple is famous for housing the largest Buddha statue in Japan:

Kannon:

History:

According to the "Illustrated History of the Origins of the Pavilion of the Second Moon," an old manuscript which dates from the sixteenth century, a Todaiji monk named Jitchu celebrated the feast of the drawing of water for the first time in A.D. 752.  When he reached the paradise of the bodhisattvas, Jitchu admired and respected their ceremonies and asked how they could be replicated and performed by humans.  The bodhisattvas replied saying,  "A day and a night here correspond to 400 human years.  And so it is all the more difficult for humans to perform the rites according to the rules and to carry out the thousand circumambulations solemnly, without overlooking any detail.  Furthermore, how could men reproduce these rites without a Kannon with a living body?"  Jitchu then replied,  "The ceremony must be sped up and the thousand circumambulations performed at a run. . . . If I call on him with a sincere heart, why should a Kannon with a living body not come?" And he returned to transform the ceremony of the bodhisattvas to one that humans could practice.

Because of the difference between human time and godly time, the monks run a strange race around the altar dedicated to Kannon on the last three days of each of the two weeks of ritual.  At first the monks walk very slowly, rolling up the sleeves of their robes and their stoles; then they fasten the lower parts of their garments to their legs.  Meanwhile, the curtain concealing the holy of holies is lifted so that the audience suddenly sees the splendour of the rites and experiences a joy equal to that felt by Jitchu when he reached paradise.  Bells are loudly rung during this part of the ceremony.

To honor the gods that Jitchu encountered, eight monks disguised as gods come and dance. The first to arrive is the water divinity, who skips and runs with tiny steps and sprinkles the prayer room with blessed water. Next, enters the god of fire, who scatters embers. Everyone dances and leaps to the noisy rhythm made by three other gods with a rattle, a conch shell and a bell. Two more brandish a sabre and a willow rod to drive away evil spirits.

During these nights of dancing the water of youth is drawn and distributed to the audience. This ritual originates "In the province of Wakasa, Onyu, a god who possessed the river Onyu, lingered while out fishing and arrived late at the performances of the rites. Regretting his disrespect, the god said to Jitchu that as a sign of contrition he would make the sacred water spring near to the place of the feast, and at that very moment two cormorants, one black and the other white, suddenly rose from the rock and perched on a nearby tree. From the traces of these birds sprang water of incomparable sweetness. Stones were laid there and it became the spring of lustral water, aka-i. . ."

The Ceremony of Fire:

Also called otaimatsu, the ceremony of fire involves ten priests carrying enormous torches to the Nigatsudo hall balcony to observe the first watch of the night, this segment of the ritual is called dattan.  On the 12th day, 11 priests carry 11 torches instead of ten, and run through the Nigatsudo hall balcony.  They then perform the ritual of circumambulation, known as hashiri no gyoho, where the priests chant and wave rods and swords which are intended to ward off evil spirits.  During the ceremony, the audience can see the priest's huge shadows displayed on a wall behind a thin veil.  Once the veil is removed and the priests are revealed, they begin running and swinging their torches.  The rapid movement produces showers of sparks, flickering light, and burning embers from the flaming torches.  The sparks are believed to have magical powers against evil, and to bring luck to whomever they touch.  On the morning of the ritual, many women show up very early to request that the priests put dattan hats on their children's heads because it is believed that if a child wears a dattan hat during the ritual, then he or she will grow up healthy and have a happy future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sVOuZh0T7w

The Ceremony of Water:

Drawing of water!

The water of whirlpools warms

From this day also.

     -Riota (1718-1787) using a haiku to illustrate the meaning of Omizutori

Also called Omizutori, the water drawing ceremony is the most famous ritual of shunie.  The ceremony is practiced very early in the morning, usually around 2 a.m. during which the priests collect perfumed water from the Wakasa Well which is located under Nigatsudo hall.  It is believed that the water is sacred and can cure the aging process and all diseases.  Once the priests have collected the water, it is given to the people and offered to Kannon's image at Nigatsudo hall.  The water is poured into two pots, one is filled with water from the previous year, and the other is filled with water from the past rituals over the last 1,200 years.

Works Cited

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/traditionalevents/a13_fes_omizu.html

http://gojapan.about.com/od/japanesefestivals/a/naraomizutori.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1989_Dec/ai_8279355