Every year, on 9 to 11 January, Osaka, one of the largest cities in Japan and my home town, becomes lively as it celebrates festivals for the god of fishers and merchants, Ebisu. Ebisu is one of the Seven Lucky Gods which are commonly worshiped in Japan. In some schools of Japanese Buddhism, regarded as the guardians of the teaching of Buddha as they provide peace of mind for pursuing the path to enlightenment.
It was my fond memory that my whole family led by my grandfather and father visited the local Ebisu's shrine to pray for the family business's flourish of the year. At the festival we can have festive foods and toys from stalls. When you pray for the god, you have to beat a huge gong as it is said Ebisu is hard of hearing. No wonder, not every business or merchant becomes flourish. My little brothers and I beat the gong as strong as we could hoping for our family business going well.
From unknown reasons, the festive music for the festival at the shrine of Ebisu featured a characteristic refrain played by an electric bass. So when I first heard Six 60's "Don't forget your roots" I felt like I had heard this before. After pondering a while I realised that the electric base sound of the tune reminded me of the Ebisu's festival.
In New Zealand, there are many people doing their own businesses. I am doing a small one along with my full-time job, too. In this sense, I don't forget my roots. For those of you like me, I with your business prosper this year. May the force of Ebisu be with you!
No comments:
Post a Comment