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Seicho-No-Ie News

Brazil Hozo Shrine Festival


Realtime Transmission of the Service via Internet

In Brazil, the 53rd Brazil Hozo Shrine Festival and the 25th Memorial Service for the Neglected Souls of Aborted Children were held from April 4 to 5 at the Brazil Hozo Shrine in Ibiuna, Sao Paulo. The number of soul registers installed was 2,706,978, which was an increase of 211,447(8.5%) from last year and a record.

About 20,000 people attended the Festival and participated in the memorialization of the souls.

In Brazil, the Shinto-style ritual was modified in 2006 and it is now conducted in a way that is conducive to the culture and tradition of Brazil. This year’s Festival was transmitted realtime to 167 sites in Brazil for the first time. According to the Brazil Missionary Headquarters, the Internet transmission contributed to the reduction of CO2 emissions resulting from the movement of people and also allowed many people to participate from their base of propagation in the reading of the Holy Sutra. The members living in remote areas watched the Festival realtime for the time and were deeply moved.

The main festival took place from 9:30 a.m. on April 5. There was a reading of the Holy Sutra, Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines by the attendees for newly-memorialized souls. The Memorial Service for the Neglected Souls of Aborted Children was held from 1:00 p.m.

On the previous day (April 4), the soul removal ceremony and purification flame ceremony were held in the morning. The calling of the souls to be newly memorialized through the soul registers was held on the afternoon of the same day.

Rev. Marie Murakami, Chairman of the Brazil Missionary Headquarters, addressed the attendees at the end of the Festival and expressed her appreciation, saying “A record number of souls were memorialized. They were immersed in the teaching that man is a child of God through the words of Truth in the Holy Sutra. This was all thanks to the members’ unconditional love and devotion.”

Joyous comments were received from the attendees, including: “I had a problem with infertility, but I became pregnant after the Festival”; and “Since the memorialization of my ancestor’s soul registers, my daughter’s epileptic fits stopped.”

Remarks by Rev. Yoshio Mukai, Bishop of Seicho-No-Ie Latin America

“We have been promoting the memorialization of soul registers at the Hozo Shrine Festival since 2003. As a result, now, an increasing number of people not only from Brazil but also from other Latin American countries request memorialization. This year, the number of soul registers exceeded 2.7 million. I am confident that with the support from the world of God and the spiritual world, the International Peace by Faith Movement in Brazil and other Latin American countries will further expand.”