Obon Festival
Tokyo, Japan – July 29, 2016 : Bon Odori Dancers at the Sugamo Bon Odori Festival in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, Japan. Bon dance, is a style of dancing performed during Obon.
By Sharon Schweitzer
Obon Festival is an annual Japanese ritual observed from the 13th to the 15th of the seventh lunar month. This year, the holiday will be celebrated from August 13th to 15th. It can also be held from July 13th to 15th, depending on the calendar used. Obon is similar to Mexico’s Day of the Dead and China’s Hungry Ghost Festival. During the three-day festivities, the Japanese welcome the spirits of their dead ancestors and rekindle their connections. These three days are not listed as public holidays, but it is customary that people are given leave.
Obon is a 500-year-old Buddhist custom. It is sometimes referred to as the festival of souls. It’s believed that spirits descend to earth to reunite with their living family. There’s a legend associated with the history of Obon. A Buddhist monk named Mogallana, who could see into the afterlife, prevented his dead mother from going to hell by making offerings to other monks. Having attained redemption on behalf of his mother, Mogallana started dancing in joy and the others joined him forming a big circle. This dance form came to be known as the Bon Odori dance.
Although Obon has some parallels with Halloween, it doesn’t intend to ward off spirits. Rather, the Japanese seek to welcome the souls of their ancestors by preparing delicacies and performing Bon Odori. Many also visit the tombstones of their family members and polish the surfaces. They donate flowers, candles, incense sticks, and fruits to local temples and at altars. On the last day of Obon, one is supposed to see off their ancestors by releasing sky lanterns or by burning a bonfire.
In recent years, floating lanterns (toro nagashi) have gained in popularity. The beautiful lanterns float down a river that runs to the sea to symbolically send their ancestors’ spirits into the sky, although customs vary from region to region.
The style of the traditional Bon Odori dance varies from region to region but it is normally based around the rhythms of Japanese taiko drums. Dancers perform on a yagura stage and participants wear light cotton kimonos. Anyone can join in the dances which are held in parks, temples, and other public places around Japan. Chrysanthemums, which are meant to ward off evil spirits, are the standard flowers for Obon, but in some recent Obon ceremonies, flowers that the deceased loved have been used as decorations.
Another part of the tradition is to prepare food for the ancestors. In some regions, it’s a tradition to make “spirit horses” (shouryouma) out of cucumbers and aubergines. The cucumber horse is made for the ancestors’ journey to the earthly realm, and the aubergine horse is made for their journey back to the spirit world.
Photo by savvytokyo.com/obon-the-japanese-festival-of-the-dead
Sharon Schweitzer JD, is a diversity and inclusion consultant, cross-cultural trainer, etiquette expert, and the founder of Access to Culture. In addition to her accreditation in intercultural management from the HOFSTEDE Centre, she is an attorney and mediator. Sharon served as a Chinese Ceremonial Dining Etiquette Specialist in the documentary series Confucius was a Foodie, on Nat Geo People. Her Amazon #1 Best Selling book in International Business, Access to Asia: Your Multicultural Business Guide, won a coveted Kirkus Star, and was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books. She’s a winner of numerous awards, including the British Airways International Trade Award at the Greater Austin Business Awards.
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