A line of priest trainees from Hosshinji disappear down a slushy back street in Obama, on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The photo is another recently sent by old friend Uomi Zenjiro. Hosshinji is a small Soto Zen temple in Obama. When I lived in Kyoto, I often stayed at Hosshinji, usually in December and February, for sesshin, weeklong meditation sessions. The priests in the photo are doing takahatsu, or ritual begging for alms. In groups of 10 or so, priests walk single file through the streets, chanting and stopping at houses for alms in the form of money or food. January is the most severe time of the year for takahatsu, as they are out for hours, tramping through snow, slush, and ice in straw sandals.
I several times saw the Hosshinji priests doing takahatsu in Obama but observed the practice even more in Kyoto. Some of Kyoto's most famed Zen temples were in the section of the city where I lived and priests doing takahatsu was a common sight. Just as familiar was the non-stop chanting they did on their rounds.
