Buddhist baths on the first day of spring

SUNDAY WAS SETSUBUN in Japan, which was both New Year’s Day and the first day of spring in the old solar calendar. And since winter is over and spring is getting started, what could be more natural than having a spring cleaning?

That’s exactly what they do every year at the Kyo’o Buddhist Temple in Kagoshima City, except there the monks strip down to loincloths and take a bath outside with cold water instead of washing the windows. Their goal is to purify their mind and body while praying for the health and safety of the parishioners.

In Japan, when people douse themselves—or are doused—with cold water in mid-winter according to the modern calendar, it’s usually associated with a Shinto event. But the Buddhists in Kagoshima are not to be outdone—in this century-old ceremony, they bathe three times a day: morning, noon, and night.

The morning low in Kagoshima City yesterday was 7.1° C, or 44.7° F. That’s not intolerable, but I’m sure the men were clenching their teeth as well as several other body parts. They steeled themselves to the task by chanting sutras first. I hope it helped.

That’s not all that happened at the temple. Since it was Setsubun, they also stood outside and scattered beans (usually soybeans) to drive away the demons, chanting “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi”(Out with demons, in with good luck).

Why is it that both the Shintoists and the Buddhists like taking cold baths in the middle of winter while insisting it’s actually spring under the old calendar? I wonder…

We all know what they say a young man’s fancy turns to during spring. And many health experts recommend cold showers for increasing one’s sperm count.

Hey! If those guys weren’t monks, I’d say they were a bunch of sly devils!