I saw this article today and think that it seems to be such a contradiction in terms for a Buddhist monk to own a bar? Surely alcohol is not encouraged in any Buddhist tradition? It's amazing that this bar has been going for 13 years. This bar has even been featured on CNN in 2010 (
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/01/21/japan.monks.rap.religion/index.html)
There has been controversy over Buddha bars where Buddha statues are placed in bars as a secular outfit but here is a bar opened by Buddhist monks yet there seems to be no issue. Perhaps westerners are less accommodating?
Tokyo bar offers cocktail of booze and Buddhismhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/29/us-japan-monkbar-idUSBRE92S02K20130329By Hyun Oh
TOKYO | Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:55am EDT
(Reuters) - Japanese Buddhist monk Yoshinobu Fujioka enjoys bringing his congregation together, one cocktail at a time.
Fujioka owns the 23-seat "Vowz Bar" in central Tokyo, where Buddhist chants replace karaoke songs and the shaven-headed bartenders serve up sermons and homilies along with the drinks.
"People would gather in a Buddhist temple and drink together, we've just updated the tradition to fit our times", said Fujioka, who also works at a temple just outside Tokyo.
"They become totally different believers here, the distance between them and myself diminishing. They are more connected with each other," he added, dressed in traditional black robes.
Vowz Bar has been going strong for 13 years and the cocktail list includes the vodka and cognac-based "Perfect Bliss" as well as "Infinite Hell" - a vodka, raspberry liqueur and cranberry juice concoction with a splash of tonic water.
The special is called "Enslavery to Love and Lust" and costs around 800 yen ($8.51).
"Every day, my heart gets tainted by dirt in the secular world, so I come here to repurify it over some drinks and fun," said regular patron Noriko Urai, a 42-year-old businesswoman.
"Vowz" is a play on the Japanese word for monk.
(Editing by Elaine Lies and Miral Fahmy)
