Ohigan, a Japanese Buddhist Holiday

Maybe you are already familiar with obon, a Japanese holiday during which people pay their respects to their family’s graves. But did you know that they also visit graves on two other days of the year? That celebration is called ohigan.

Ohigan Is a Period for Remembrance

Ohigan is celebrated twice a year on the “vernal equinox day” and the “autumnal equinox day,” and three days before and after them. During the equinox, days and nights are of equal length, and this period is thought to be when the world of the living and the world of the dead become close. This changing of the season becomes a time for personal reflection and for remembering and honoring the dead.

Just like during obon, people usually clean up the gravesites, offer flowers, burn incense, pray, and may recite sutras too. It is customary to give Japanese cakes as offerings: botamochi in spring and ohagi in autumn. Both are wrapped in anko [sweet red bean paste], because red is thought to ward off evil spirits.

The autumnal equinox period happens during “Silver Week,” a period of holidays a bit shorter than “Golden Week,” and many people use that period…