Japanese monks and nuns held a fashion show — replete with rap music and a catwalk — at a major temple in Tokyo on Saturday to promote Buddhism.
In the Tokyo Bouz (monk) Collection held at Tsukiji Honganji, nearly 40 monks and nuns from eight major Buddhist sects joined in the event, which was aimed at raising the profile of the religion.
After banging out a rap version of a Buddhist sutra, five monks from each school strutted on the catwalk and chanted prayers, wrapping up the show with a grand finale featuring confetti resembling lotus petals.
"We wanted to show the young people that Buddhism is cool, and temples are not a place just for funerals," said Koji Matsubara, a chief monk at Tsukiji.
More than 1,200 years after it first arrived from mainland Asia, Buddhism in Japan is in crisis, priests say.
Almost three-quarters of Japan's 120 million people are registered as Buddhist, but for many, the only time they enter a temple is to attend a funeral. That has sent many of the country's 75,000 temples into financial trouble.
"Many of us priests share the sense of crisis, and a need to do something to reach out to people," said priest Kosuke Kikkawa, 37, one of the organizers of Saturday's event. "We won't change Buddha's teachings, but perhaps we need a different presentation that can touch the feelings of the people today."
Tsukiji Honganji Temple offers theological seminars in English and has fitted its main hall with a pipe organ for Western-style weddings to attract young couples.
