The day started leisurely, but early; Mary was still working on getting over jet lag, so we woke up around 5:30. We ate a breakfast of bread, onigiri, and juice we got from the conbini (convenience store) next door and then relaxed in the hotel room until 10, when we were picked up by uncle Koichi and taken back to the homestead to prepare for houji.
Houji is a Buddhist memorial service. This one marked the 13th anniversary of the passing of Mary Belle's great-grandmother. The entire family, including some other distantly related aunts and uncles, gathered in uncle Yuji's house (which is connected directly to the grandparent's home). A multi-tiered display had been set up in the living room, including a picture of great-grandma Ikeda and places for offerings. The smoke from the incense wafted in front of the display.
We kneeled on tatami mats while the Buddhist monk conducted the ceremony. He chanted what I presume was a lengthy passage of scripture for about 20 minutes, and then each family member would approach the ad hoc shrine, one by one, and bow both to the priest and to the shrine, holding a Buddhist rosary. Then they would take a pinch of what looked like shredded tea leaves or something and offer it in the incense holder, and then bow once more. I think I did it right when it was my turn, but I may have missed a step. Regardless, after the individual payment of respects, the priest wrapped up the chanting and gave what sounded like some words of wisdom to close. Everybody then stood up and prepared to leave for the temple up the hill, where the remainder of the memorial would take place. I had a hard time standing up, though, as my feet had gone completely numb from sitting on them during the course of the ceremony.
I quickly recovered feeling in my legs, though, and we headed up to the temple, where we collectively recited Buddhist sutra (般若心経 han'nya shingyou, or Heart Sutra). We then all went out in the rain (which hadn't abated since the day before) and payed respects at the ancestral gravesite of the Ikeda family by placing incense in front of the grave marker.
Given the solemnity of the event, I was hesitant to take any pictures, but after getting permission from the priest, I took a few.
The hall where we recited the sutra
The interior of the temple
Very pretty. I don't know what these are, but they were cool.
What a gorgeous woman standing there!
After that was lunch, which was held at a super fancy, super traditional Japanese restaurant, which (as it happened) was right next door to home!
We all sat around a big table and had several courses brought out to us, all of which were (well, mostly all; a couple things were a bit iffy, but most were) utterly delicious. I only took pictures of the first course, as after the second course of roast and third course of sushi had been served, I was focused only on stuffing as much delicious food as I could into my mouth. But here's how it started.
Various seafood delicacies (this was the iffiest part, but the shrimp was delicious)
Don't forget the sashimi!
After lunch, we weren't able to do much again, as it was raining even harder than it was the day before. We did spend more time with Ryotaro and Shotaro, as well as their friend Takaya. We tried talking in English for practice, but we mostly just played cards and hung out. After dinner in the evening, Mary and I were advised to head back to the hotel early in case the river level got too high such that we couldn't cross it. On our way out, though, I took a snapshot of Yuji's latest creation.
His confectioneries are incredible!
We hit the hay early to prepare for day 3 (my last day) with Mary Belle and her family. Stay tuned for that update soon.
I love the rain downspout!!
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