It's a boy! - Otoko des!
Let's get this out of the way first: It's a boy!
I don't know anything about boys. All advice welcome!!
His spirit animal is a turtle.
He will be born in the Year of the Rabbit
He'll probably be a Taurus barring any complications
So I've got a big turtle rabbit bull baby.
And Yossi and I are already fighting about names. I want to name him after a stone in English, and Yossi wants to name him something trendy and Japanese. I hope we can work this out. For the moment he's still Imo-chan, our little potato.
On January 4th, I went to a temple to get a "Hara-Obi."
"Hara" means tummy and "Obi" means belt wrap.
The temple's name is "Arawazu Kannon" and people have been visiting since the year 1200 to give prayers for childbirth and healthy infants.
Kannon is a female Boddhisattva. She refrains from reaching full enlightenment and nirvana in order to help others along the Path. Maybe you could equate her with a kind of Mother Mary. I love the peaceful faces of her statues.
Yossi, his brother, his mother, and I walked quietly onto the temple grounds. We passed under a stone arch and into a plaza where we could purify ourselves at the fountain and then admire an artificial waterfall pouring into a pond. A boat made of flowers and straw floated auspiciously in the pond, like a fairy boat ready to take someone to the Buddhist Pure Land.
Next we passed by a 300 year old pine tree. It's giant branches were held up by pillars of stone that were bearing various dates. The tree, growing in the temple under the light of Buddha, is still a strong vibrant green despite its age. (That's literally what it says on the website.)
We went up a steep, roofed staircase. On either side, hundreds of wooden "ema" prayer plaques clanked together. A lot of them had pictures of dogs. That's how this all started, actually. Two of my students gave me a paper-mache dog. I couldn't understand why. They explained that dogs are the symbol of easy childbirth. Dogs have many puppies without so much pain. Dog charms are a common gift for pregnant women. Then they asked, "Do you know Inu no Hi (Dog Day)?" Each day of the year is a different one of the 12 zodiac animals. On the first Dog Day in the 5th month of pregnancy, women go to get their tummy blessed at a shrine and begin wearing a Hara-Obi.
I had never heard of that before ever. Wow the cultural things you learn by being pregnant!
The students looked at their calendars and told me all the upcoming Dog Days. Then I told Yossi's mom, my Oka-san, and she found one where we both had time to go together. She was so excited that I was willing to participate in her culture. She said that in Okayama, everyone goes not to a shrine, but to Arawazu Kannon.
First, I presented my pre-bought Hara-Obi to the temple. I wasn't sure which to buy, so I got a modern one and also a traditional cloth wrap called a "Sarashi." The priests decorated them with a seal and an auspicious Sanskrit character. Then I waited with other girls in their fifth month for the ceremony to start. I think I had the biggest belly of all of them, which made me feel out of place at first. As we donned a red outer garment together and received our Dog Day charms for the blessing, I realized that these other 10 women are actually 20 people altogether. And we will all be giving birth around the same time to our own little Imo-chans. And all these little babies will be Imo-chan's classmates and friends in the future. How wonderful! I wanted to talk to them and make friends, but we were supposed to be silent and somber in the presence of Kannon.
Finally everyone was ready and we entered the inner chamber of the temple. Before us were Buddhist statues behind an altar, taiko drums, and a pedestal with a vajra. My pilgrimage in 2021 really helped with my ability to identify Buddhist paraphernalia. Next, monks wearing ochre robes filed in before us. They instructed us to look up for the first prayer. Up?
I raised my head and found myself staring into the image of Kannon painted on the ceiling of the temple. I've never seen a painted ceiling before in Japan! I thought that was just a European thing. I locked eyes with Kannon's face floating above me and listened to the chanting of priests. It was a great feeling.
Next, the head priest blessed us each individually while the monks chanted. He told Kannon our full addresses, including house numbers and buildings names. Now Kannon knows where I live!! Better watch out and not be naughty! But the chanting was so invigorating, even during the dull subject of people's addresses. It was really something you could put on a CD at an ethnic restaurant, or do yoga to. Your friends would be like, "Wow this is so cool, I love Buddhist chanting! It's so spiritual!" and then you'd smirk and say, "Actually they're just listing a bunch of people's addresses."
When they listed my address, they called me "Janifer" and then corrected it to "Jennifer" which was a little embarrassing.. Sorry for my crazy gaijin name!
Next, the monks went around to each of us and blessed us individually with a holy stick. They touched our heads slightly, and then the Hara-Obi we laid before us, while calling upon Kannon to protect the life inside each of us. Maybe it was the chanting, the drums, and the spiritual atmosphere, or maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but I started tearing up. I'm even tearing up as I'm writing this. So I guess it's the hormones, then. When it was my turn, Imo-chan started wiggling around inside. Does my little potato like the music? Or could he feel that something special was happening?
When we had each received our blessing, the chanting turned into a crescendo and two monks began beating the drums wildly. The chanters wove harmonies into the droning of the head priest. I wanted it to last forever. It was an absolutely amazing experience. All too soon it was over and the head priest dismissed us.
Afterward, I reunited with Yossi's family and we went to buy a third Hara-Obi from the shrine. This one has a little pocket to keep your Dog Day charm in. It's so cute! Here's my little fashion show. Click on the link:
https://www.randomisgod.com/pictures/000Hara-Obi.jpg
Finally, we went back outside. Schools kids were lining up to give New Year's prayers and get lucky charms. I saw some people bringing tiny infants to be blessed by Kannon. But we have had a death in the family and we are not supposed to participate in these activities. However I thought about all my lucky 5-yen coins that I carry in my wallet at all times and I suddenly overwhelmingly wanted to give a little prayer for Imo-chan. I asked Yossi if it was okay. Oka-san passed us by to go back to the car. His brother passed us by to follow. Yossi hesitated. I said he could go on ahead. Then Yossi turned and said he wanted to give a prayer, too. Together we made an offering and then lit a candle for Imo-chan's healthy and safe entry into the world.
What a refreshing experience after all the mourning rituals we are in the midst of now!
May 2023 be a kinder year to our family! A lot of hope is riding on this potato!
Jennifer