Uji Hozo Shrine Urabon Memorial Service
Memorial Service for the Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake
Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi Gives an Address
The 56th Hozo Shrine Urabon Memorial Service was solemnly held from August 17 to 19 at the Seicho-No-Ie Uji Temple in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture.
On August 19, the Hozo Shrine Main Festival, the Seirei Shokon Shrine Festival, the Memorial Tower for Neglected Souls of Aborted Children Throughout Japan Festival and the Suekazu Inari Shrine Festival were held. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, served as the Chief Priest at these ceremonies. Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie White Dove Association, was also present. A total of 4,976 people attended the three-day Festival.
On August 17, the spirit extraction ceremony of the Sending Off Festival was held to extract the souls from the spirit registers that had been memorialized over the past year at the Hozo Shrine. On August 18, the purifying flame ceremony of the same Festival was held for the old spirit registers. There was also a ceremony to call the spirits. While the attendees read the Holy Sutra, Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines, the 1,195 volunteers from Missionary Areas across Japan read the names from 2,228,432 soul registers, which were subsequently placed in the Hozo Shrine for memorialization for one year by the reading of the Holy Sutra, Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines.
A Way to Become Happy Together with Nature
The Memorial Service for the Great East Japan Earthquake Victims was held from 4:30 p.m. on August 18 at the worship hall of the Hozo Shrine. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi served as the Chief Priest. Mrs. Junko Taniguchi was also present.
After the purification rite, Invocation, offerings, Rev. Taniguchi read the supplication and offered a sacred branch. Rev. Kamino Kusumoto, Head Priest at the Uji Temple, read the Words of the Memorial Service and Mrs. Junko Taniguchi offered a sacred branch. This was followed by the offering of sacred branches by the Head Priest; Rev. Kazuo Isobe, Chairman and CEO of Seicho-No-Ie; and the Chiefs of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Missionary Areas, which were struck by the earthquake/tsunami. While the attendees read the Holy Sutra, Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines led by Rev. Susumu Honda, Chief of Ibaraki Missionary Area, the attendees burned incense. The removing of the offerings, spirit extraction ceremony and the Affirmation of Perfect Peace and Harmony followed. At the end of the Service, Rev. Taniguchi gave a 24-minute address.
Rev. Taniguchi asked that in order to deeply understand the meaning of the recent earthquake the attendees read his writings in his blog, Shokan Zakkan (Random Thoughts) as well as the “Prayer to Visualize Grand Harmony Between Nature and Human Beings” and “Prayer to Head Jubilantly Toward the Realization of the Rebirth of Japan.”
Noting that in recent years the phenomena of clash between nature and human beings have happened often, the President pointed out that a major task facing the entire humanity is to change the lifestyle built on the belief that economic progress through excessive consumption of nuclear energy and fossil fuel promises happiness.
Rev. Taniguchi next said that it is important that in considering the meaning of the earthquake we need to take the individual victims, nation and humanity as a whole separately. He said that most victims have presumably reached a higher spiritual level. He made a point that we should try hard to realize a way for humanity to become happy together with nature and to influence humanity to go in the same direction as our Movement to Grow with Nature from Japan, where 70 percent of the land is woods and forest.