Thousands Celebrate Buddha's Birth

April 16, 2007

Author: SERENA MARIA DANIELS

Source: Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/article_1653747.php

ANAHEIM – Inside a second-story classroom at the Orange County Buddhist Church on Sunday, Kyuka Kanesaka, 60, worked quietly next to her son, Gankyo Nakamuri, 26, making small dogs out of willow tree wood.

The room full of Kimekoni figurines, ranging from the one-inch pups to 18-inch boys and girls, are often made as heirlooms passed on to children or grandchildren.

"When you make them it's kind of hard to be apart," said Kanesaka, who has been teaching the art form at the church for 28 years.

The exhibition was one of several elaborate displays in which students and instructors alike got to put their work on display for the two-day Hanamatsuri, the festival of flowers that celebrates the birth of Buddha.

Thousands of people from all over Southern California packed nearby parking lots to make their way into the festival.