| Have you ever wondered about... |
Obon? |
Source Information: We Japanese, by Frederic de Garis, and Atsuharu Sakai,
Books I, II, and III combined, 2002, Kegan Paul Limited, England.
Source Information: Various oral histories and folk lore heard over the years
Photos by Don Nishimoto
By Emy Murakawa
From July 15 (Lunar calendar) through August 15 (Solar calendar) celebrations are held in Japan for Bon or Urabon (The Feast of Lanterns). Services are held for ancestors, relatives and friends who have died, and particularly for those who passed away during the immediate past year (Hatsubon), as it is believed that they need more guidance to find their way. The festival has been held since the 7th century although many of the events have changed. It remains one of the most significant and enjoyable of the Japanese festivals. It goes by a variety of names, the most popular of which is Obon, The Festival or Feast of the Dead. In Japan, many who work in the city visit their birthplace at this time every year to clean the gravesites of their ancestors and participate in the local Obon. Many years ago, Obon and the holiday on January 15th were the only days servants and workers were released to return to their homes. Vegetables, fruits and rice wine are left out for the spirits to eat. Flowers decorate the graves or altar and incense is burned. This is the time for the living to show their respect to their ancestors. In the Hiroshima area, colored paper lanterns (chochin) are lighted at the ancestral graves. White ones are lit for those who passed away during the past year (hatsubon).
| During the week of Obon, bright red lanterns (chochin) are hung everywhere. In the past, some lanterns were very elaborate, especially made for the occasion. In fact, these lanterns were originally to guide the dead spirits home from the spirit world and then back again. Now they are usually lit at night for the festival dances. The celebrations are generally held in temple or shrine compounds or other convenient public places. A temporary wooden tower is erected in the center, and at the top of the tower, one or more taiko drummers play. Large speakers at the top of the tower play special Obon music, and men and women in yukata or summer cotton kimonos circle the tower dancing bon odori. Bon Odori or Bon dance, a religious folk dance, was originally done to comfort the spirit of the dead during the Obon season. |
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| The story is that a man had a vision of his mother suffering after death. He set about doing good deeds, and through his actions, his mother was saved from the path of hungry ghosts and was able to attain peace. It is said that everyone joined in his dance of joy. Men, women, and even little children | ||
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enjoy Bon Odori. In Japan, Bon Odori differs naturally according to locality, as each district has its own songs and styles of dancing. More recently many modern or even foreign songs and dances have been introduced to these programs. Bon odori are easy rhythmic, repetitive dances. Each movement in the dance has a special significance, such as digging, threshing wheat, gathering coal, etc. These dances are important because it is said they soothe the spirits of the dead during their visit. This type of dancing can be learned outside the Obon Festival but most are very simple to join in and pick it up as you go. Often people who come out to watch can just join in as we do or have |
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seen others do at the local Obon festivals. Like our Community Center Festival, there are many stalls around the outside of the square. In Japan, everything from corn on skewers to sweet toffee to grilled eel can be found. Games booths are available, too, with games like trying to catch a goldfish with a rice-paper scoop before it dissolves. Stallholders wear happi coats with big Japanese characters written on them, and often people in the same area or club will have the same color and symbol on their happi coats. |
In Japan, fireworks (Hanabi-taikai) are also displayed, despite the heat, and people go from town to town to see the different displays and dancing. Toro-Nagashi or lantern floating is the picturesque ending to the Obon festival. To guide the ancestral spirits back to the other world, little floats are lighted with candles and released on to rivers or on the sea. People eagerly watch them float down the river or be carried by the wind far away from the shore. Some of you may have seen a version of this if you have attended Obon at Senshin Buddhist Temple. Kyoto is particularly renowned for its Obon Festival because of the Toro-Nagashi displays of rafts with fires on that are released into the river at the end of the week. Most other areas no longer do the burning rafts due to environmental concerns. Although Obon originated as a religious observance, it is celebrated widely as a summer tradition both in Japan and in the states, most notably in our Nisei Week activities.
