Shuni-e
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The Shuni-e (修二会? literally "Second-Month Service") is a ceremony held each year at Tōdai-ji, a Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan. The name of the festival comes from its observance in the second month of the lunisolar calendar, though in modern times the ceremony begins on March 1st and continues for 13 days. The ceremony, originally started by the monk Jitchū as a devotion to the Bodhisattva Kannon, has continued every year since 752, though the practice began originally at a different temple until the Nigatsu-dō was completed by 772. The ceremony is alternatively known as Omizutori (お水取り) owing to the final ritual of the ceremony.
The Shuni-e ceremony actually comprises an array of ceremonies centered around repentance to the Bodhisattva Kannon, as well as praying for the welfare of society. Two of the most well-known ceremonies of the Shuni-e are the Fire Ceremony (otaimatsu in Japanese) and the Omizutori, or "Water Ceremony".
[edit] The Fire Ceremony
For the first 11 days, ten select monks wielding large pine torches (11 monks with torches on the 12th day), bearing swords and staves, run along the balcony of the Nigatsu-dō showering sparks on people below. It is thought that these sparks are blessed and will protect the recipient from evil. The monks also perform ritual circumambulation, chanting as well as waving of the swords to ward off evil spirits.
[edit] The Water Ceremony
Underneath the Nigatsu-dō is the Wakasa Well, which according to legend only springs forth water once a year. After the final night of the Fire Ceremony, the monks gather water from the well around 2am in the torchlight, and is offered to Kannon as well as to the general public. It's popularly believed that this water, being sacred, can cure ailments. The water from the well is actually gathered into two pots, one containing water from the previous year, and another containing water from all previous observances of the ceremony.
