Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-01-12
UNIQUE CEREMONY
The Japanese Rite For the Battle
Slain of the World.
1T EMBRACED ALL NATIONS.

III EMBhACED ALL NAiluNS.
On a Floating Temple In Sumida River
a Priest of Tokyo, With His Flock, Of
fered Prayers For the Souls of Sol
diers Dead Because of Wars.
Unusual preparations were made n
morning in Shussanji. or the Going
Out of the Mountain temple, a quaint
little place of worship hidden away In
q labyrinth of crooked streets in d poor
quarter of MISREPRESENTATION for a
celebration on the Sumida river to
pray for the repose of the souls of all
those slain in battle regardless of ma
tionality and to scatter scraps of paper
bearing the image Of Jizo Sauna ove
the waves, one for each departed spirit.
The chief priest, an aged man, with
his assistant and the supporters Of the
temple, had been busy for days in adj
vance, and all was ready. The red and
gold altar of Shussanji was heaped up
with offerings of rice and fruit, and a
plain wooden tablet had been placed
there bearing the words:
ITO console all those souls who have
passed into the beyond because of
war"
The old priest, his bald head shining.
clad in his coarse cotton robe of gray.
OBLIGATED before the altar, and when the
last prayers were uttered the people
formed a procession to the Sumida riv-
er, a short distance away.
Near a bridge an unusual craft was
waiting, a deep cargo junk rooted over
with canvas bearing bold black Bud
dhist symbols, and at the bow 1uttered
a white cotton banner on which was
written in large black characters:
"A service to console the spirits OF
the whole worlds departed ones"
Quickly the parishioners embarked
and squatted down upon the cushions
spread over the bottom of the boat, and
the priest, the. central figure in the re-
ligious ceremony, as gray and faded as
the robes he wore, took up his position
In front of the altar. A piece of soiled
embroidery did duty for an altar CLOTH
and there was set up a furnished statue
of Jizo Sauna. Just below were three
wooden tablets. The central one read.
"Pray for the whole worlds departed
ones souls" The others had inscrip-
tons asking for prayers for the jap
anese army and for prayers for the
allies of japan.
The priest placed some sweet scented
squares of incense upon the Goa in a
small brass brazier, and as the clouds
rose into the air the boatman with his
bamboo pole pushed off from the shore
and the holy mans voice was heard
chanting-an the w~orshipers, old wom-
en- and young. men and children, muir
muring in an undertone, "Name Amida
. Rptsnr,
Out upon the Sumida river the cere-
mony of scattering the papers was be-
gun. Old and young with their hands
full leaned over the sides of the junk,
throwing away the sacred papers with
the etfigy OF Jizo Sauna stamped there
on, each meant for the solace of the
soul of some soldier slain i'll battle.
Those who have mourned dear mes
slain in war would have been touched
to the quick by this simple service OF
humble japanese people given for all
that great host of unknown who have
laid down their lives for their countries.
And, while the priest intoned, the in
cense rose into the air, the metal and
the wooden drums were beaten, the
worshipers chanted increasingly, and
the squares of paper futtered out OF
the BOAT on all sides and were carried
away by the wind over the water to
make a long wake behind the vessel.
For three hours the temple junk
f1oated down the river, the papers fall
ing noiselessly over the waves as the
banks of the Sumida were passed.
A halt was made at noon, when thin
white wooden boxes filed with rice
and vegetables were brought out, while
an old woman brewed the tea over a
little charcoal fire.
The spot at which the stop had been
made was a sacred one, for in that ex-
act place a Jizo Sauna stone had been
buried under the water. Here after
the simple meal a special service was
held before the boat returned up
stream. and a long, narrow piece Of
wood was driven into the sandy bot
tom of the bay. The inscription upon
it read literally as follows:
Herewith the service is held for the
whole world its departed soldiers to
console. "-London Times.