• Kongobuji : The Head Temple
• The Whole Mountain is Kongobuji
• Inside the Temple
• Greetings from the 412th Chief Abbot of Kongobuji
• Annual Events and Ceremonies

This is the beginning of the text

Annual Events and Ceremonies

SANNO-IN RISSEI

Date: May 3rd on the lunar calendar

A ritual ceremony is held from 18:00 at Sanno-in in GARAN.

Sanno-in Rissei is a ritual ceremony following the ancient dialogue practice in Buddhism. It is the ritual to learn the truth of Buddhism. After the questions are presented, the person called the "Ryugi" states his opinions and the person called the "Seigi" criticizes and directs the "Ryugi". This ritual started in the early 15th century to prevent the Land Deity who resented the laziness of the priests in Koyasan from leaving Koyasan. The representatives of Koyasan priests were sent to Kofukuji Temple in Nara and learned the ritual. By the mid of Meiji period, a whole dialogue had to be memorized perfectly and even a minor mistake could not be overlooked. It has a peculiar rhythm and melody so that it is extremely hard to master. It is quite a long ritual as the prologue ritual starts at 16:00 in Sanno-in, and the entire ceremony lasts until 6:00 the next morning.