[Tea utensils/tea ceremony tools, incense holder] White elephant, flower festival, made by Ryoji Nakamura

●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.

Size: Approx. 4.5 x 7.1 x 4.8 cm
Author: Ryoji Nakamura
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(Younger brother of Akiho Nakamura)
Born in Higashiyama, Kyoto in 1955. Graduated from Kyoto Prefectural High Technical College of Pottery, Department of Molding and Research in 1979. After that, studied Kiyomizu ware under Inoue Shunho, Nakamura Suiran, and Nakamura Shuho.
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Box: Wooden box