A ``Flower Festival'' was held at a temple in Sendai City to celebrate the day when Buddha was born, and children dressed in colorful costumes performed a procession of children.
Flower festivals are held at temples around this time every year in connection with the Buddhist legend that Buddha was born in April about 2,500 years ago.
A flower festival was held on the 7th at Ryuhoji Temple, a temple associated with the Date family in Aoba Ward, Sendai City, where 17 children between the ages of 3 and 8 participated.
The children performed a procession of children, with boys wearing golden embosses and girls wearing golden crowns, and wearing brightly colored costumes as they paraded around the shrine grounds in lines.
They then used a ladle to pour sweet tea on a statue of Buddha sitting on the back of a white elephant, which is considered the most sacred animal in Buddhism, to celebrate his birth.
This sweet tea is thought to be the birth bath poured from heaven when Buddha was born, and is said to pray for the healthy growth of children.
After drinking sweet tea, the children clasped their hands together in front of the Buddha statue.
An 8-year-old girl who participated said, ``It was fun to walk together side by side.It was great to be able to wear the gold crown of the costume.''