{{short description|Japanese Buddhist custom}} {{for-multi|the Spanish municipality|Obón|the British company abbreviated OBON|One Britain One Nation}} {{Infobox holiday | holiday_name = Obon Festival | type = Japanese | image = Osurasma, or praying a soul out of purgatory-J. M. W. Silver.jpg | imagesize = 250px | caption = A depiction of Obon in the late Edo period | official_name = | nickname = Bon | observedby = Japanese people | litcolor = | longtype = Religious, Cultural | significance = Honors the spirits of one's ancestors | begins = | ends = | date = {{Plainlist| * '''August 15''' * July 15 (Kantō) * 15th day of the 7th lunar month}} | date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last|cite=no}} | date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current|cite=no}} | date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next|cite=no}} | date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next2|cite=no}} | celebrations = | observances = | relatedto = {{ubl|Ghost Festival <small>(in China)</small>|Tết Trung Nguyên <small>(in Vietnam)</small>|Baekjung <small>(in Korea)</small>|Bun/Usōrō <small>(in Ryukyu Islands) </small>|Pchum Ben <small>(in Cambodia)</small>|Boun Khao Padap Din <small>(in Laos)</small>|Mataka dānēs <small>(in Sri Lanka)</small>|Sat Thai <small>(in Thailand)</small>}} | duration = 4 days | frequency = Annual }} {{nihongo|'''Obon'''|お盆||{{IPA|ja|o.boꜜɴ|}}{{sfnp|Japan Broadcasting Corporation|1985|p=123}}}} or just {{nihongo|'''Bon'''|盆||{{IPA|ja|boꜜɴ|}}{{sfnp|Japan Broadcasting Corporation|1985|p=837}}{{efn|''Bon'' is a polysemous word. This accented pronunciation is specific to the festival. Its more common sense, "tray", goes with an unaccented pronunciation, {{IPA|ja|boɴ|}}, instead.}}}} is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This syncretic folk Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as {{transliteration|ja|Bon Odori}}.
The festival of Obon lasts for three days; however, its starting date varies within different regions of Japan. When the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan responded differently, which resulted in three different times of Obon. Traditionally, Obon was celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.
Obon is now observed during one of the following periods:
* July 15 of the Gregorian calendar (Shichigatsu Bon or "Bon in July"): Observed in Tokyo and some urban areas of the Tōhoku and Hokuriku regions where agricultural busy seasons do not overlap with the festival dates. This practice is sometimes referred to as "Tokyo Obon." * August 15 of the Gregorian calendar (Hachigatsu Bon or "Bon in August"; Tsukiokure Bon or "Month Later Obon"): This is the most commonly celebrated time across Japan.
These days are not listed as public holidays, but it is customary for people to be given leave.
Within the Japanese diaspora, the obon is usually tied to a fundraising event for a temple, church, and even non-sectarian Japanese community organizations. As a result, Japanese organizations within a particular region will often coordinate their dates on different weekends throughout the summer as the participants were not expected to be given leave during the workweek if the date fell on a weekday, and to allow for the greater community to support each other's events. It isn't uncommon for families in regions with a larger Japanese emigrant population to visit multiple festivals in support of the greater community.<ref name="BCA">{{cite web |title=Obon in America |url=https://www.buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/obon-gathering-of-joy |website=Buddhist Churches of America |access-date=26 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Japanese Traditions: Obon |url=https://www.jcchawaii.org/resources/obon |website=Japanese Cultural Center Hawai'i |access-date=26 July 2025}}</ref>
==History of {{transliteration|ja|Obon matsuri}}== [[File:Gozanokuribi Daimonji2.jpg|thumb|left|Kyoto's {{transliteration|ja|Gozan no Okuribi}} bonfire lit during the Obon festival]] [[File:Bon-odori-2014.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=1|(video) Neighborhood Bon Odori festival in Adachi-ku, Tokyo (2014)]] The Japanese Obon Festival is heavily influenced by the Ghost Festival of Buddhism and the Chinese Taoist {{transliteration|zh|Zhongyuan}} ({{lang|zh|中元}}) Festival.
Before Buddhism came to Japan, there was already a custom in place to beckon the deceased home to their families twice a year, both in spring and autumn, on the night of the full moon. This custom already had a close connection to the ancestor-veneration characteristic it has in modernity.<ref name=":1" />
The Buddhist tradition originates from the story of Maha Maudgalyayana (Mokuren), a disciple of the Buddha, who used his supernatural powers to look upon his deceased mother only to discover she had fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and was suffering.<ref>What is Obon, 1998, Shingon Buddhist International Institute, California, http://www.shingon.org/library/archive/Obon.html.</ref> Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could release his mother from this realm. Buddha instructed him to make offerings to the many Buddhist monks who had just completed their summer retreat on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Mokuren did this and, thus, saw his mother's release. He also began to see the true nature of her past selflessness and the sacrifices she had made for him during her lifetime. The disciple, happy because of his mother's release from suffering and grateful for her many kindnesses, danced with joy. From this dance of joy comes the {{transliteration|ja|Bon Odori}} or "Bon Dance", a time during which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. See also: Ullambana Sutra.
In recorded history, ''Obon'' was practised as a Buddhist tradition first under the reign of Empress Suiko (592–628). By 733, it seems to have been introduced as a customary Buddhist holiday in Japan within the court.<ref name=":1" />
===Etymology=== The Japanese word {{transliteration|ja|obon}} is composed of the honorific prefix {{transliteration|ja|o-}} and the word {{transliteration|ja|bon}}. The {{transliteration|ja|bon}} portion is from the longer Japanese names {{nihongo||盂蘭盆|Urabon}} or {{nihongo||盂蘭盆会|Urabon'e}}, in turn from the Chinese terms {{lang|zh|盂蘭盆}} ({{transliteration|zh|Yúlánpén}}) or {{lang|zh|盂蘭盆會}} ({{transliteration|zh|Yúlánpénhuì}}).
The Chinese terms are often described as deriving from Sanskrit {{transliteration|sa|ullambana}} meaning "hanging upside down", in reference to souls suffering in hell.<ref>Chen, K 1968, ‘Filial Piety in Chinese Buddhism’, ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'', p. 88.</ref> However, the Sanskrit word was sparse, if at all, attested;<ref name="Ashikaga">{{cite journal|author=Ashikaga, Ensho|year=1951|title=Notes on Urabon ('Yü Lan P'ên, Ullambana')|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=71|issue=1|pages=71–75|doi=10.2307/595226|jstor=595226}}</ref> in addition, it would be the present participle of verb Sanskrit {{transliteration|sa|ullamb}} ("to hang", intransitive), with no inherent "upside-down" meaning.<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?tran_input=ullamb ''ullamb''-related entries at SpokenSanskrit.org website]</ref><ref>[http://sanskritdictionary.com/ullamb/42749/1 ''ullamb'' entry at Sanskrit Dictionary website]</ref>
Moreover, neither the purported meaning of "hanging upside-down" nor the verifiable meaning of "hanging" match the semantics very well, given that the {{transliteration|ja|urabon}} ceremonies are about helping the dead, closer in meaning to the "helping" sense of the Pali verb {{transliteration|pi|ullumpana}} ("raising, helping"), present participle of {{transliteration|pi|ullumpati}} ("to raise up, to help").<ref>[https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=Ullumpana&searchhws=yes ''ulllumpana'' entry at The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary website]{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This suggests that explanations of the dead hanging upside-down in hell are more likely to be folk etymologies based on a mistaken connection to the Sanskrit verb, rather than a more direct semantic link to the Pali. Alternatively, Takakusu Junjiro<ref name="Ashikaga"/> propounded that the origin was in fact Pali {{transliteration|pi|ullumbana}}, a colloquial corruption of the Pali {{transliteration|pi|ullumpana}} ("raising up; saving; helping"), and that the etymology was mistakenly attributed to Sanskrit.
== Practices ==
=== {{transliteration|ja|Bon Odori}} === {{more citations needed section|date=July 2020}} [[File:Albuquerque Bridge-Sasebo River, Sasebo.jpg|left|thumb|Participants place candlelit lanterns in the Sasebo River during Obon.]] {{nihongo||盆踊り|Bon Odori|{{IPA|ja|boɰ̃.oꜜ.do.ɾi|}}, {{lit|Bon dance}}}} is a style of dancing performed during Obon. It is a folk entertainment, which has a history of nearly 600 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japanhoppers.com/en/all_about_japan/culture/214/|title=Bon Odori {{!}} Cultural traditions {{!}} Japan Travel Guide – Japan Hoppers|last=Guide|first=Japan Hoppers Travel|website=Japan Hoppers – Free Japan Travel Guide|language=en|access-date=2020-04-08|archive-date=2020-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727012627/https://www.japanhoppers.com/en/all_about_japan/culture/214/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Originally a {{transliteration|ja|Nenbutsu}} folk dance to welcome the spirits of the dead, the style of celebration varies in many aspects from region to region.<ref name=":1">Iwasaka; Toelken (1994): 28.</ref> Each region has a local dance, as well as different music. The music can be songs specifically pertinent to the spiritual message of Obon, or local {{transliteration|ja|min'yō}} folk songs. Consequently, the Bon dance appears different from region to region. Hokkaidō is known for the folk-song {{transliteration|ja|"Sōran Bushi"}}. The song {{transliteration|ja|"Tokyo Ondo"}} takes its namesake from the capital of Japan. {{transliteration|ja|"Gujo Odori"}} in Gujō in Gifu Prefecture is famous for all night dancing. {{transliteration|ja|"Gōshū Ondo"}} is a folk song from Shiga Prefecture. Residents of the Kansai area will recognize the famous {{transliteration|ja|"Kawachi Ondo"}}. Tokushima in Shikoku is very famous for its {{transliteration|ja|"Awa Odori"}}, and in the far south, one can hear the {{transliteration|ja|"Ohara Bushi"}} of Kagoshima.
thumb|right|An Obon offering The way in which the dance is performed is also different in each region, though the typical Bon dance involves people lining up in a circle around a high wooden scaffold made especially for the festival called a {{transliteration|ja|yagura}}. The {{transliteration|ja|yagura}} is usually also the bandstand for the musicians and singers of the Obon music. Some dances proceed clockwise, and some dances proceed counter-clockwise around the {{transliteration|ja|yagura}}. Some dances reverse during the dance, though most do not. At times, people face the {{transliteration|ja|yagura}} and move towards and away from it. Still some dances, such as the Kagoshima {{transliteration|ja|Ohara}} dance, and the Tokushima {{transliteration|ja|Awa Odori}}, simply proceed in a straight line through the streets of the town.
[[File:Tokyo Zōjō-ji temple festival 20100730 7109.jpg|thumb|left|{{transliteration|ja|Bon Odori}} dancers (30 July 2010 at Zōjō-ji in Tokyo)]] The dance of a region can depict the area's history and specialization. For example, the movements of the dance of the {{transliteration|ja|Tankō Bushi}} (the "coal mining song") of old Miike Mine in Kyushu show the movements of miners, i.e. digging, cart pushing, lantern hanging, etc.; the above-mentioned {{transliteration|ja|Soran Bushi}} mimics the work of fishermen such as hauling in the nets. All dancers perform the same dance sequence in unison.
There are other ways in which a regional Bon dance can vary. Some dances involve the use of different kinds of fans, others involve the use of small towels called {{transliteration|ja|tenugui}} which may have colourful designs. Some require the use of small wooden clappers, or {{transliteration|ja|"kachi-kachi"}}, during the dance.
The music that is played during the Bon dance is not limited to Obon music and {{transliteration|ja|min'yō}}; some modern {{transliteration|ja|enka}} hits and kids' tunes written to the beat of the {{transliteration|ja|ondo}} are also used to dance to during Obon season.
[[File:六本木ヒルズ盆踊り三本締め.jpg|thumb|right|{{transliteration|ja|Bon Odori}} dancers (27 August 2017 at Roppongi Hills in Tokyo)]] The Bon dance tradition is said to have started in the later years of the Muromachi period as a public entertainment. In the course of time, the original religious meaning has faded, and the dance has become associated with summer.
=== Altar === The altar in Japanese households, ''kamidana'', are given care by the families with decorations and offerings such as flowers and straw figures of animals and food. They do this not only for their own deceased but for the souls of the households who no longer have relatives within their vicinity. The offerings are placed in front of the tablets with the deceased person's name on it.<ref name=":0">Michiko Iwasaka, Barre, Toelken (1994): Death Customs in Contemporary Japan. In: ''Ghosts and the Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends''. Denver: University Press of Colorado. p. 26.</ref>
=== Lights === Families who have lost a family member during a current year are known to give special attention to the preparations of ''Obon''. They will light a small fire on the first evening of the festival to guide the souls back home. In the past people would light a line of lights towards the cemetery to make sure the souls would find their way.<ref name=":0" />
thumb|The {{Nihongo3|"spirit horse"|精霊馬|shōryō uma}} or {{nihongo3|"cow horse"|牛馬|ushi uma}}, vegetable decorations made for O-bon|193x193px On the third day of the festivities the souls are sent back to the other side with fires to see them off, this is referred to as ''Okuribi'' ("sending fire"), or, in a larger scale, the Burning of the Character Big in the mountain. In this practice small lanterns are used that float down a river. This symbolises the way of the souls back to the world of the dead.<ref name=":1" /> Both these fires mark the commencement (mukaebi) as well of the closing of the festival.<ref>Hur, Nam-Lin (2007). ''Death and Social Order in Tokugawa Japan: Buddhism, Anti-Christianity, and the Danka System''. Harvard University Asia Center, 2007. p. 192. {{ISBN|9780674025035}}.</ref>
=== Shōryō Uma and Ushi Uma === Another significant ritual practiced during the Obon festival in Japan is to craft a cucumber horse and eggplant cow, known as {{nihongo3|"spirit horse"|精霊馬|shōryō uma}} or {{Nihongo3|"cow horse"|牛馬|ushi uma}},<ref>''Nihon Kokugo Daijiten'', available online via the Kotobank entry for ''shōryō uma'' [https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%B2%BE%E9%9C%8A%E9%A6%AC-533696 here] (in Japanese)</ref><ref>''Nihon Kokugo Daijiten'', available online via the Kotobank entry for ''ushi uma'' [https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%89%9B%E9%A6%AC-439530#E3.83.87.E3.82.B8.E3.82.BF.E3.83.AB.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.B3.89 here] (in Japanese)</ref> that act as a vessel for the ancestors to come back home and return, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sato |first=Ava |title=What is Obon? {{!}} Guide to Japanese Halloween 2021 |url=https://japantruly.com/what-is-obon/ |access-date=2021-11-23 |website=japantruly.com |language=en}}</ref>
=== Clothing === As Obon occurs in the heat of the summer, participants traditionally wear {{transliteration|ja|yukata}}, a kind of light cotton kimono. Many Obon celebrations include a huge carnival with rides, games, and summer festival foods.<ref>Obon: Japanese festival of the dead, 2000, Asia Society, http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=27391 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302022535/http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=27391|date=2008-03-02}}.</ref>
==Festivals of shared origin==
=== Buddhism === {{Main|Ghost Festival}}
==== Ryukyu Islands ==== Ryukyuans' version of the Obon celebration is known as {{transliteration|ryu|Bun / Usōrō}}. Observed in Okinawa and the Amami Islands, this version follows the lunar calendar, so the dates change yearly on the Gregorian calendar, sometimes extending into September. The dance performed in the Okinawa Islands is known as {{transliteration|ryu|eisā}}. Similarly, the Yaeyama Islands have {{transliteration|rys|Angama}}, Yonaguni Island have {{transliteration|yoi|Suruburi}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=16 March 1987 |title=琉球の方言 11巻 : 八重山 与那国島 |url=https://hosei.ecats-library.jp/da/repository/00012665/ryukyu_11_goi.pdf |journal=Ryukyu no hōgen |issue=11 |pages=300 |via=HOSEI UNIVERSITY REPOSITORY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=与那国島の盆踊りスルブディ |url=https://www.town.yonaguni.okinawa.jp/donan-bunka/program3/1.html |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=www.town.yonaguni.okinawa.jp}}</ref>
==== Korea ==== The Korean version of the Obon celebration is known as {{transliteration|ko|Baekjung}}. Participants present offerings at Buddhist shrines and temples, and masked dances are performed. It is as much an agricultural festival as a religious one.<ref name="MobileReference2007">{{cite book |author=MobileReference |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5VhTa1Eiq7oC&pg=PT490 |title=Encyclopedia of Observances, Holidays and Celebrations from MobileReference |publisher=MobileReference |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-60501-177-6 |page=490 |access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref><ref name="Cho2005">{{cite book |author=Dong-Il Cho |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxHQqLz5HBUC&pg=PT49 |title=Korean Mask Dance |publisher=Ewha Womans University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-89-7300-641-0 |page=49 |access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref>
==== Vietnam ==== {{Main|Tết Trung Nguyên}}
===Hinduism=== {{transliteration|sa|Pitri Paksha}} (literally "fortnight of the ancestors") is a 16–lunar day period in Hindu calendar when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors ({{transliteration|sa|Pitrs}}), especially through food offerings. {{transliteration|sa|Pitri Paksha}} is considered by Hindus to be inauspicious, given the death rite known as {{transliteration|sa|Śrāddha}} or {{transliteration|sa|Tarpana}} performed during the ceremony.
== Celebrations outside Japan == === Philippines=== In the Philippines, Filipinos of Japanese descent, with support from the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai Inc., Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai International School, Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku, and various other Japanese Filipino-based organizations, hold an Obon festival every year along with other Japanese-based Filipino festivals, to celebrate the ancestors of Filipinos of Japanese descent, and to celebrate the friendship between Japan and the Philippines.<ref>{{cite web|first=Pearl|last=Cabiluna|url=https://www.everythingcebu.com/entertainment/bon-odori-festival-2016-fever-hits-cebu/|title=Bon Odori Festival 2016 Fever Hits Cebu!|date=August 1, 2016|access-date=January 16, 2022|publisher=Everything Cebu|archive-date=December 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208092450/https://www.everythingcebu.com/entertainment/bon-odori-festival-2016-fever-hits-cebu/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/401811/Local-News/Philippine-Japan-Festival-2017|title=Philippine-Japan Festival 2017|publisher=SunStar Cebu|date=October 27, 2017|access-date=January 16, 2022}}</ref>
=== Argentina === In Argentina, the Obon Festival is celebrated by Japanese communities during the summer of the southern hemisphere. The biggest festival is held in Colonia Urquiza, in La Plata. It takes place on the sports ground of the La Plata Japanese School. The festival also includes {{transliteration|ja|taiko}} shows and typical dances.<ref>[http://www.eldia.com.ar/edis/20110109/tapa6.htm "Una tradición que se afirma en la Ciudad"], El Día, Sunday, January 9, 2010.</ref>
=== Brazil === Obon Festival is celebrated every year in many Japanese communities all over Brazil, as Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. São Paulo is the main city of the Japanese community in Brazil, and also features the major festival in Brazil, with street {{transliteration|ja|odori}} dancing and {{transliteration|ja|matsuri}} dance. It also features {{transliteration|ja|taiko}} and {{transliteration|ja|shamisen}} contests. The festival also features a variety of Japanese food and drink, art and dance. Obon is also celebrated in communities of Japanese immigrants and their descendants and friends throughout South America: Obon festivals can be found in the states of Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Goiás, Amazonas, Pará (Tomé-Açu), Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pernambuco, Bahia, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Brasília.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Londrina Matsuri 2019 será no início de setembro|url=https://www.londrinatur.com.br/agenda/londrina-matsuri-2019-setembro/|access-date=2021-06-26|website=LondrinaTur, portal de Londrina e norte do Paraná|language=pt-BR}}</ref>
=== Malaysia === In Malaysia, Obon Festival is also celebrated every year in Esplanade, Penang, Shah Alam Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor, and also Universiti Malaysia Sabah at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. This celebration, which is a major attraction for the state of Selangor, is the brainchild of the Japanese Expatriate & Immigrant's Society in Malaysia. In comparison to the celebrations in Japan, the festival is celebrated on a much smaller scale in Penang, Selangor and Sabah, and is less associated with Buddhism and more with Japanese culture. Held mainly to expose locals to a part of Japanese culture, the festival provides the experience of a variety of Japanese food and drinks, art and dance, with the vast number of Japanese companies in Malaysia taking part to promote their products.
=== United States and Canada === thumb|upright|Yoshio Iwanaga demonstrates a ''bon odori'' ''Obon'' festivals have been celebrated in North America, particularly by Japanese-Americans or Japanese-Canadians affiliated with Buddhist temples and organizations. The first recorded ''obon'' in the U.S. was organized by Japanese emigrant laborers on a sugar plantation in Wainaku, Hawaii in 1885.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tasaka |first1=Yoshitami Jack |title=Bon Odori |journal=East-West Journal |date=1 August 1990 |page=27 |url=https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Bon_Odori_in_the_American_Concentration_Camps}}</ref> Private ''obons'' were also organized by Japanese immigrant organizations in hotels and private residences on the West Coast with the first recorded event in 1923.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kiyama |first1=Wynn |title=Ministers, Dry Cleaners, Farmers, and Gardeners: The Original Taiko Drummers in the Continental United States |url=https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2024/5/8/original-taiko-drummers-1/ |work=Discover Nikkei |publisher=Japanese American National Museum |date=8 May 2024}}</ref> Buddhist Reverend Yoshio Iwanaga has been credited with popularizing ''obon'' in America with the first public ''bon odori'' at the Buddhist Church of San Francisco in 1931.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kiyama |first1=Wynn |title=Obon dancing in America: Reverend Yoshio Iwanaga photo album |url=https://www.nichibei.org/2017/06/obon-dancing-in-america-reverend-yoshio-iwanaga-photo-album/ |work=Nichi Bei News |date=22 June 2017}}</ref> Iwanaga also organized the first major ''obon'' following WW2 in celebration of Buddhist Churches of America's (BCA) Golden Jubilee in 1948, with an ''bon odori'' at San Francisco's City Hall Plaza, attracting more than 1,000 participants.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Iwanaga |first1=Reiko |title=Recalling Chizu Iwanaga, BCA Music Department Pioneer |url=https://www.buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/post/recalling-chizu-iwanaga-bca-music-department-pioneer |work=Buddhist Churches of America |date=6 Jan 2023}}</ref>
BCA temples in the U.S. typically celebrate Obon Festival with both religious ''obon'' observances and traditional {{transliteration|ja|Bon Odori}} dancing around a {{transliteration|ja|yagura}}.<ref name="BCA"/> Many temples also hold a cultural and food bazaar providing a variety of cuisine, art, and taiko performances to display features of Japanese culture and Japanese-American history to the greater community.<ref>Nakao, Annie, [https://web.archive.org/web/20060427233732/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/08/PNGNHDCEJA1.DTL "Japanese Americans keeping Obon tradition alive"], ''San Francisco Chronicle'', Friday, July 8, 2005</ref><ref>Schulze, Margaret, [http://www.taiko.org/obon/obon_basics_nikkei.html "Obon Story: Honoring ancestors, connecting to our community"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807063049/http://www.taiko.org/obon/obon_basics_nikkei.html|date=2007-08-07}}, in the ''NikkeiWest'' newspaper, San Jose, California, Vol. 10, No. 14, July 25, 2002</ref><ref>[http://www.taiko.org/obon/obon_basics.html "Obon Basics"] – San Jose Taiko, California {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808033436/http://www.taiko.org/obon/obon_basics.html |date=August 8, 2007 }}</ref> While ''obon'' festivals are usually coordinated between various organizations to allow participants to support fellow churches and temples within the Japanese-American community, as in Japan, regional variations to the dances can be found between different communities.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ritoper |first1=Stefanie |title=It's Obon season! How to attend one of SoCal's biggest Japanese American celebrations |url=https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/its-obon-season-how-to-attend-one-of-socals-biggest-japanese-american-celebrations |work=LAist |date=17 June 2024}}</ref> Even some Japanese Christian churches in America have adopted some aspects of ''obon'' with cultural festivals in the spring tied to the Easter holiday.<ref>{{cite news |title=Music, Food and Fun at Centenary UMC’s 2023 Arigato Bazaar |url=https://rafu.com/2023/06/music-food-and-fun-at-centenary-umcs-2023-arigato-bazaar/ |work=Rafu Shimpo |publisher=Los Angeles Japanese Daily News |date=13 June 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Bon Dance in Keei, Hawaii.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Bon dance'' in Ke'ei, Hawaii]] The ''"Obon'' season" continues to play an important part of the present-day culture and life of Hawaii and are held among the five major islands on weekend evenings from June to August. They are held usually at Buddhist missions, but sometimes at Shinto missions or at shopping centres.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/June-2016/Hawaii-Summer-2016-Bon-Dance-Schedule/|title=Hawai'i Summer 2016 Bon Dance Schedule|website=honolulumagazine.com|date=6 June 2016|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/obon-season/|title=2016 Obon season calendar|date=29 May 2016|website=staradvertiser.com|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref> At some Buddhist missions, the dance is preceded by a simple ritual where the families of the deceased in the past year burn incense for remembrance, but otherwise the event is non-sectarian. The songs played differ among the regions, however typically starts with {{transliteration|ja|Tankō Bushi}} from Kyushu, continues with songs such as {{transliteration|ja|Kawachi Otoko Bushi}}, {{transliteration|ja|Yukata Odori}}, Asatoya Yunta and Ashibina from Okinawa Prefecture, and modern dances such as the ''Baseball'' {{transliteration|ja|Ondo}} and {{transliteration|ja|Pokémon Ondo}} for children, and typically ends with {{transliteration|ja|Fukushima Ondo}}, celebrating abundant harvest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4BhRpA4584|title=Fukushima Ondo (福島音頭)|last=warubozu047|date=23 December 2010|access-date=18 March 2018|via=YouTube}}</ref> The participants, Japanese descendants and the people of all races, dance in a big circle around the {{transliteration|ja|yagura}}, the central tower set up for the dance, from which recorded songs are broadcast. As on the mainland, ''bon'' dance lessons are given by volunteers in larger cities before the actual events.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yasuda Soto |first1=Erin |title=Family carries on special legacy with SJ Obon |url=https://www.nichibei.org/2010/06/family-carries-on-special-legacy-with-sj-obon/ |work=Nichi Bei Weekly |date=17 June 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bonodori.net/kaigai/hawaii/102.htm Bon Dance Overseas – Hawaii (in ten web pages)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829065429/http://www.bonodori.net/kaigai/hawaii/102.htm |date=2016-08-29 }} (in Japanese)</ref>
Japanese museums and other cultural organizations also hold summer festivals inspired by ''obon'', such as the Morikami Museum in Florida,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://morikami.org/cultural-programs/lantern-festival/|title=Lantern Festival: In The Spirit Of Obon – Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens|website=morikami.org|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref> and the Japanese Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Missouri, which has hosted an Obon festival over Labor Day weekend every year since 1977. Known as the Japanese festival, it is a collaboration with several Japanese-American organizations, and hosts thousands of people over a three-day period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japanese Festival {{!}} Labor Day Weekend {{!}} Sept. 3–5 {{!}} Missouri Botanical Garden |url=https://events.missouribotanicalgarden.org/japanese_festival |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=Sumo is back! Labor Day Weekend at MoBot! |archive-date=2023-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524195352/https://events.missouribotanicalgarden.org/japanese_festival |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also== *Awa Dance Festival *Day of the Dead, a Mexican festival also revolving around the dead *Ghost Festival, the Chinese counterpart of the Obon Festival. *Japanese calendar *Japanese culture *Parentalia, a festival in ancient Rome to honor ancestors, including bringing offerings to their on the last day, known as Feralia *Pitru Paksha, a Hindu festival that bears similarities to the Obon festival *Qingming Festival *{{transliteration|ja|Segaki}}, the concept of offering food to the hungry ghosts in Japanese Buddhism *Śrāddha, a Hindu culture celebrated for half moon cycle to give the offerings and honor ancestors. Celebrated in all Indian State. *Takeda Lullaby, a folk lullaby from the Kyoto region in which the Obon Festival is mentioned *Veneration of the dead
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book|script-title=ja:NHK偏 日本語発音アクセント辞典|edition=revised|publisher=Japan Broadcasting Publishing Corporation|editor=Japan Broadcasting Corporation|date=10 November 1985|isbn=4-14-011040-6|language=ja}} * Marinus Willem de Visser: [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279534/page/n69/mode/2up Ancient Buddhism in Japan – Sutras and Ceremonies in Use in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. and their History in Later Times], volume 1, Paul Geuthner, Paris 1928–1931; Brill, Leiden 1935, pp. 58–115 * Robert J. Smith: Ancestor Worship in Contemporary Japan, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1974. {{ISBN|0-8047-0873-8}} * Ensho Ashikaga (1950), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1520740?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents The Festival for the Spirits of the Dead in Japan], Western Folklore 9 (3), 217–228 {{registration required}}
==External links== {{Wiktionary|Obon}} {{commons category|Bon Festival}} * [http://www.japanese-city.com/calendar/events/p/obon-and-practice.php List All Japanese Obon Festivals & Bon Odori Practices – Schedule] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091217075713/http://www.bonodori.net/E/index.html Bon Dance: Description of various Bon Dance styles and resources.] (archived 17 December 2009) * [http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/obonfestival.htm Obon Festival in Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204120015/http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/obonfestival.htm |date=2012-02-04 }} * [http://www.pbase.com/quahyc/bon_odori Photo Gallery of Bon Odori 2007 in Penang, Malaysia] * [http://www.bon-odori.com.ar/ El Bon Odori de La Plata en Argentina]
{{Japan topics}} {{Asia in topic|Culture of}} {{Halloween}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obon (festival)}} Category:Observances honoring the dead Category:Buddhist festivals in Japan Category:Buddhist holidays Category:Culture of Japan Category:July observances Category:August observances Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Observances set by the traditional Japanese calendar Category:September observances Category:Buddhism and death Category:Obon