Bando-bushi (an event in the Otani school of the Shinshu Sect) (坂東曲)

Bando-bushi is an event taking place at Buddhist memorial services and Hoon-ko (memorial services for Shinran) in the Otani school of the Shinshu Sect. At the event, Buddhist priests chant invocations and hymns by shaking their upper bodies.

This event originated from an anecdote of Shinran that when he was transported to Echigo (currently Niigata Prefecture), he chanted intently in a ship which weltered heavily in a rough sea. This is a unique characteristic of the Otani school, which is lacking in other schools of the Jodo Shinshu (the True Pure Land Sect of Buddhistm).

[Original Japanese]