Visit Nara

Abe-Monjuin is a temple dedicated to Monju Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. Modern Japanese pay respects to Monju for help passing exams and mastering calligraphy. The temple’s grand ceremony is held yearly on March 25 and 26, when rites and incantations are performed bestowing wisdom upon all those gathered for the ceremony. The priests hand out wisdom-bearing mochi rice cakes to the crowd, but if your rice cake doesn’t fill you up, festival food stalls pack the temple grounds. All in all, if you’re in Nara at the time, you’d be wise to attend.