Mt. Yoshino Rengekai Todd Ceremony

This event is one of Kinpusenji Temple's three largest Buddhist ceremonies and a Buddhist memorial service known as Rengekai. It is classified as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Nara along with the lotus picking ceremony. Long ago, an unbelieving man who insulted the Buddha was swept away by a hawk from the caves of a steep cliff. With that, a high priest enacted the power of Buddhism to turn the man into a frog and saved him from the hawk. The now converted man was given a commandment by the high priest, to go to the temple to receive the blessings of the sutra to turn back into a human. This legend is now reenacted by a performer dressed as a large green frog. Before the Todd Ceremony the performer parades around town to the sound of taiko drums where many spectators gather.