Otagi: Where Music and Buddhism Collide
Learning to hear the message of the Buddha in unusual new ways at an eclectic spring festival put on by a priest who follows his own beat.
Officially called the Hana Matsuri (flower festival), this annual event is a mishmash of spring renewal celebration, music appreciation, and the birthday of Buddha. The locals have been holding this festival at Otagi Nenbutsuji in the northwest hills of Kyoto for decades now, as part of the revitalization efforts of former head priest and artist Kocho Nishimura since he took over there in 1955. Nishimura was already a renowned restorer of Buddhist statues and an accomplished artist in his own right. Knowing that this isolated spot in Arashiyama would draw few visitors, the priest undertook a number of creative projects to boost the artistic profile of the temple. In the 1990s, the Hana Matsuri here had a distinct Indian vibe. Nishimura family members would dress up in Indian saris and perform traditional dances, with the temple grounds festooned with flowers. As indebted to the Indian origins of Buddha as Japanese Buddhism is, this sort of display is rarely found at temples nowadays. Kocho Nishimura was certainly a visionary who knew how to engage and challenge his audience in new ways.
This old festival tied in nicely with the birthday of the historical Buddha in India, which is celebrated in Japan on April 8th and called Kanbutsue. A popular ritual for this holiday is using tiny ladles to sprinkle sweet ama-cha tea made from hydrangeas over a small statue of Buddha. The figure depicts Buddha at the moment of his birth when he emerged from his mother, pointed towards the sky and the ground and shouted, "I am honored in both Heaven and Earth." Upon this proclamation, all of nature started exploding into life around the Buddha and his mother, flowers blossoming and animals crying. The sweet tea shower is symbolic of this uplifting moment.
Otagi Nenbutsji still sets up a small shrine to perform this ritual at their Hana Matsuri, but the event as a whole has taken a turn towards another unique direction. The current head priest here - the son of the Indian-inspired originator of the festival - is a musician. Koei Nishimura creates fascinating electronic music using a blend of new age synth sounds and classical harmonies to create vivid soundscapes. For him, the music is a parallel to his father's painting and sculptures, with his compositions based on Buddhist imagery both real and imaginary. Just like how his father brought Buddhas out of rocks through his carving tools, Koei's music brings forth a primordial force that was lying in wait for the artist to channel it. "The music is a message," he explains. "It's all around us, like the air that we don't notice until we realize that we are breathing." When he plays a piece inspired by a Buddhist mandala visualized in his head during composition, the spiritual message is transferred to the listener. This is not the usual way of transmitting Buddhist teachings, but after dozens of albums, the self-taught Koei has perfected a special way of inviting listeners look inside themselves and find their deepest heart simply through music. It's a remarkably effective way of pushing the envelope in a traditionally rigid religion that discourages new methods and rituals.
Under the direction of Koei Nishimura, the spring celebration here has become all about music, and this year was no exception. In keeping with the tradition of surprising visitors, the opening act was a folklorico music group called Esperanza. Ever seen a band comprised of four middle-aged Japanese women in colorful costumes playing traditional South American instruments and singing in Spanish inside a Buddhist temple? Yeah, me neither. But just like the soprano opera singer that headlined their autumn festival last year, the folklorico performance worked really well and just seemed to feel right. Esperanza played a mix of Spanish ballads, instrumental pieces, and Japanese songs rearranged with a Latin feel. The joy of the musicians and the crowd created a great vibe that was appropriate for a spring celebration. I'm sure the 13th century sculptor of the temple's main Buddha statue would never have imagined that his work would have a front row seat for that kind of performance.
Next up was a break for a more traditional interlude of Buddhist chants with Koei Nishimura and his son Kosho. Otagi Nenbutsuji is the only Tendai sect temple that uses a large drum during sutra chanting, and Kosho's rhythmic playing gave the intimate setting a grander sense of scale as the beats echoed through the wooden hall. Audience members raised their voices to join along with the chanting, as Koei performed elaborate mudra hand gestures of blessing through clouds of incense. But then something remarkable happened as the priest transitioned from a 13th century altar…
…to a modern one.
The diminutive priest fell silent, put down his ritual tools, and placed his fingers on the Korg keyboards. Choruses of violins, angelic choirs, and loops of spacey magic flowed from the mind of a Buddhist priest as he sought to convey the complex divine mandala in his soul. As the music unfolded, so did nature. The moment of Buddha's birth was within reach through the music that filled the ancient wooden building surrounded by forest. The priest in his orange robes closed his eyes and played from memory, from his heart directly into ours, a passionate message that is best - perhaps only - conveyed through music. Bereft of repeating melody, the meandering composition was nonetheless structured to take us on a journey into the complexities of ourselves. Intricate patterns of mandalas transmitted from the consciousness of a Buddhist priest to his listeners. How to interpret them was up to us, but the notes were a mirror into ourselves that we can gaze into if we so choose.
"Temples used to be about art," says Koei Nishimura. “That was their medium for transmitting a message.” By reviving this emphasis on music and art at their temple, the Nishimura family has given us a new key to unlock the teachings of Buddha. The Hana Matsuri at Otagi Nenbutsji is an experiment in transmitting the essence of Buddhism through art. If the smiles of understanding on the faces of the festival-goers were any indication, it seems to be succeeding greatly.