JAPANESE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

Obon — The Homecoming of the Ghosts

The Obon Festival of Japan

Paper lanterns, carrying the spirits of ancestors back to the realm of the spirits. (Depositphotos)

Each year, families across Japan welcome home the spirits of their ancestors during the three-day festival of Obon. It is most widely observed in mid-August, although the timing and type of celebrations vary by region and local customs.

Some areas in northeastern Honshu follow the lunar calendar’s date for this holiday and hold their Obon festivals in July. Some areas of southwestern Honshu, Shikoku Island, and Okinawa celebrate Obon in September.

Obon’s Origin

The festival traces its origin to Buddha’s disciple, Mokuren, whose mother had fallen into the world of the hungry ghosts, an unpleasant realm in the afterlife. His heart ached to imagine her suffering.

In answer to his appeal for help, the Buddha instructed him to make an offering to his fellow disciple monks of a wide variety of food, and not only his mother, but also the last seven generations of his ancestors would be saved.

Section of the Hungry Ghost Scroll features one type of hungry ghost who constantly seeks water. Kyoto National Museum. (Public Domain)