O-Bon

JETs are lucky to arrive in August as this is the time when most people celebrate O-Bon. So, we get to experience this right off the bat. O-Bon is a Buddhist tradition where most people believe that their ancestors come home to visit. So, they too return to home to prepare the welcome for their ancestors and meet with their relatives. At my BOE, some days it appeared like we had a skeletal staff due to O-Bon. Other BOE staff stayed at home to prepare their homes by making food and cleaning (osoji) while others took time off to travel to their ancestral homes around the prefecture or in Japan.

Another o-bon tradition is the bon odori (obon dance). Emi took Sarah and I to Dojoji Temple for the bon odori. We had to walk up a darkened path and in the centre of the temple grounds, the only light was coming from the stage in the middle.

Stage with drums at the Bon Odori
Little kids were playing janken (rock, paper, scissors) and then after a while they started the dance lesson. Two dance teachers led the participants around in a circle and taught us some of the dances. Then, a lady who teaches in my town invited us to join in the BBQ which we gladly did. The yakitori was delicious. Around the BBQ, I met a couple of people with Richmond connections including one who may be related to one of my friends. I was really excited to talk to him. Small world and his name is also Tamaki-san but a different family than the 'first person' I think. BBQ at the bon odori; Tamaki-san and I at the fesival
With our new found energy from the drinks and yakitori, we attempted the dancing. It was so much fun and I felt at peace while dancing around this beautiful temple in the dark. Later on, the bunraku music started and the men started signing a song about Hidakagawa. The music sounded wonderful in this traditional sitting. The whole atmosphere was hauntingly beautiful.
Dancing at the Bon OdoriAn elementary school teacher wearing the traditional Hidakagawa-cho yukata and I
On Monday, Kumashiro-san, a lovely lady who works for my BOE, invited me to her home to meet her family and have a BBQ. She has a traditional-style home up in the mountains of my town. She explained that a lantern is hung outside the home to guide the spirits back home and a window is kept open. At her window, an offering of fruit and rice were there. The lantern lights the way home
There is a small temple, that I ride past every day to work. During Obon, the temple was decorated with lanterns and many people went there to pray and visit graves. At night, it was a beautiful sight to see the lanterns all glowing. Personally, I find this to be on of the loveliest traditions since it brings together the whole family and people come back from the cities to the more rural areas like where I am living. Read more about it here.