[Tea utensils/tea ceremony tools incense holder Hanamatsuri (Flower Festival)] White elephant by Sanshiro Imaoka

●What is the Flower Festival? It is a Buddhist event that celebrates the birth of Buddha.
Some temples hold it on April 8th of the lunar calendar, or a month later on May 8th.
It is a Buddhist event originally called "Kanbutsue" (Buddha's Birthday Ceremony) and is also known as "Bussho-e" (Buddha's Birthday Ceremony) and "Goutan-e" (Birth Ceremony).
The founder of Buddhism, Buddha, is said to have been born on April 8th of the lunar calendar in a place called Lumbini in India (present-day Nepal), and the Flower Festival is a Buddhist celebration of Buddha's birth.
The white elephant that appears in the story is derived from the fact that Buddha's birth mother, Maya, had a dream in which a white elephant with six tusks entered her body and became pregnant with Buddha.
In addition, sweet tea is poured on statues of Buddha. This comes from the legend that when Buddha was born, nine dragons appeared and spat out sweet water (soma amrita), which was used as Buddha's birth bath.
Until the Edo period, five types of perfume (five-colored water) were sprayed, but after the Edo period, sweet tea began to be sprayed instead.
It is also a festival to pray for the health of babies, and it is said that rubbing a baby's head with sweet tea will ensure that the child grows up healthy and strong.

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Size: Approx. W7 x D3.4 x H4.9cm
Author: Sanshiro Imaoka
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The eldest son of Imao Myoken
Born in 1980
Graduated from Kyoto Municipal Doda High School of Art and Crafts, Department of Ceramics in 1999
Graduated from Saga College of Art and Design, Department of Ceramics in 2001
Graduated from Kyoto Prefectural Pottery Technical College, Molding Department in 2002
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Box: Wooden box