Earlier this month, Japanese Buddhists and Japanese Americans across the US celebrated the Obon festival, a traditionally three-day festival considered one of Japan’s three major holidays, next to new year celebrations and Golden Week. During Obon, people honor their ancestors, who are believed to return to the realm of the living to visit their living relatives.
Obon has a 500-year history in Japan, where it is usually observed from 13–16 August, but differences between the lunar and solar calendars mean that Obon is celebrated a month earlier in countries such as the US, generally in the middle of July. This year, many Buddhist communities held their Obon festivities over the weekend of 20–21 July.
In Japan, participants hang lanterns in front of their homes to guide their ancestors’ spirits, perform bon odori and Japanese folk dances, listen to the art of Japanese drumming (taiko), and visit their ancestors’ graves to clean them, or make food offerings at their home altars. At Obon’s conclusion, floating lanterns are released into rivers or other bodies of water to guide the spirits back to the world of the dead.
The festivities in the US reflect this colorful tapestry of celebrations in Obon’s home country. For example, the Jodo Shinshu-affiliated Mountain View Buddhist Temple hosted its 69th annual Obon Festival and Bazaar over the 20–21 July weekend. Shaved ice treats, vendor stalls offering Japanese arts and crafts, game tents, and a plant nursery were among the highlights for visitors. In the US, Obon presents a chance for families to enjoy Japanese and American classic foods, and the food hall at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple was no different. (Mountain View Voice)
The Buddhist Church of Santa Barbara hosted an Obon tea ceremony demonstration, and many of the temples involved, including West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple and Buddhist Church of Ogden, held their yearly bon odori dance, which honors the long and recently deceased, looking back on their lives and cherishing the memories created. To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Buddhist Churches of America, the Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple also collaborated with Bonbu Stories—an Asian American arts collaborative and music group dedicated to using music as a medium for raw storytelling and building connections—to perform an in-house Lantern Song to commemorate the occasion. In Hawaii, meanwhile, bon odori dances have been scheduled since June, with more than a dozen being held until late August.
Obon’s greater Buddhist significance comes into view when considering how the original story, which involves the afterlife and a descent into hell, came from India. Obon is closely tied to Kshitigarbha, or Jizo in Japan, who deploys his mighty supernatural powers to make contact with his mother, who to his horror has landed in the realm of hungry ghosts after her death. After seeking the Buddha’s counsel, Jizo is able to rescue his mother by preparing offerings of food and lanterns to the sangha, the Buddhist community.
The freeing of Jizo’s mother’s spirit, and the satiation of the hungry ghosts’ otherwise endless hunger, is a common theme during Obon that provokes contemplation and compassion despite the joyous tone. Themes of gratitude are emphasized in the messages of Buddhist leaders, such as Toby Yoshida of the Buddhist Church of Ogden, who said:
You would think that all of the people at the Obon are Buddhist, but at most half of them are. . . . My cousin is Catholic, and a lot of the people are LDS (Latter-day Saints). Everybody’s doing the same thing and we’re not like, ‘Well, you can’t do this because that’s not culturally appropriate or religiously appropriate.’ If you want to participate, you are welcome to. Buddhism is more of a lifestyle. What Buddhist believe in is that you’re just part of a greater good. It’s hard to judge when the main theme is compassion.
(ksl.com)
See more
VHBT Obon Festival Set for July 20-21 (The Rafu Shimpo)
‘The main theme is compassion’: Buddhist Church of Ogden holds annual Obon Festival (ksl.com)
Post-pandemic Obon festivals bring Japanese culture, food and celebration to communities (Daily Nexus)
O‘ahu Bon Dance Schedule 2024 (Honolulu Magazine)
Related news reports from BDG
Buddhist Temple in Hawai‘i Celebrates 125 Years of Service
Buddhist Obon Festival Returns to Southern California after COVID Absence
