Horagai

Horagai (法螺貝^?) (or jinkai (陣貝^?) ) are large conch shells that have been used as trumpets in Japan for many centuries.

The hora is especially associated with the Yamabushi, ascetic warrior monks of the Shugendo sect. The yamabushi used the trumpet to signal their presence (or movements) to one another across mountains and to accompany the chanting of sutras.

The conch is used by Buddhist monks for religious purposes. Its use goes back at least^{[citation needed]} 1,000 years, and it is still used today for some rituals, such as the omizutori (water drawing) portion of the Shuni-e rites at the Tōdai-ji in Nara. Each Shugendo school has his own conch shell melodies

The instrument, which has served a number of purposes throughout Japanese history, has been given a number of Japanese names depending on its function. Special schools still teach students to play the traditional music associated with the conch.

Unlike most shell trumpets from other parts of the world which produce only one pitch, the Japanese hora or horagai can produce three or five different notes. The different pitches are achieved using a bronze or wooden mouthpiece attached to the apex of the shell's spire.

Omizutori (お水取り), or the annual, sacred water-drawing festival, is a Japanese Buddhist festival that takes place in the Nigatsu-dō of Tōdai-ji, Nara, Japan. The festival is the final rite in observance of the two-week-long Shuni-e ceremony. This ceremony is to cleanse the people of their sins as well as to usher in the spring of the new year. Once the Omizutori is completed, the cherry blossoms have started blooming and spring has arrived.