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Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival) Parade at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple - Tokyo Hotels .com

Flower blossoms at Hana Matsuri

According to popular lore, when Buddha was born, he was greeted by sweet rain and flower blossoms. This is the event that the Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival) Parade at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple attempts to recreate every year. The parade that is held at the temple has all the fixtures of any Buddhist celebration: Traditional song and dance abounds, flowers and cherry blossoms flourish, and beautifully adorned portable shrines are carried through the streets.

In accordance with tradition, celebrants approach an image of the baby Buddha at the temple and pour sweet tea over his head, symbolizing the rain that fell from the heavens when he was born. Hana Matsuri is celebrated in this manner nationwide, but what makes the parade at Naritasan Shinshoji unique is the central figure of the procession -- a white elephant statue, which is meant to represent the white elephant that brought Buddha from heaven to the womb of his mother.