Hari-Kuyo (redirected from Festival of Broken Needles)

Hari-Kuyo (Festival of Broken Needles)

February 8 or December 8

Hari-Kuyo is a requiem service for needles held throughout Japan. The ceremony of laying needles to rest harkens back to at least the fourth century c.e. Today the services are attended not only by tailors and dressmakers but also by people who sew at home. Traditionally, a shrine is set up in the Shinto style, with a sacred rope and strips of white paper suspended over a three-tiered altar. On the top tier are offerings of cake and fruit, on the second tier there is a pan of tofu, and the bottom tier is for placing scissors and thimbles. The tofu is the important ingredient; people insert their broken or bent needles in it while offering prayers of thanks to the needles for their years of service. In the Buddhist service, special sutras are recited for the repose of the needles. Afterwards, the needles are wrapped in paper and laid to rest in the sea.
A hari-kuyo is held in Kyoto at the Buddhist Temple Horinji on Dec. 8, and in Tokyo one is held at Asakusa Kannon Temple on Feb. 8.

CONTACTS:
Kyoto City Tourism & Culture Information
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www.tcvb.or.jp/en/index_en.htm