Obon
Template:Short description Template:For-multi Template:Infobox holiday Template:Nihongo or just Template:Nihongo 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 Template:Transliteration.
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">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History of Template:Transliteration
File:Bon-odori-2014.ogv The Japanese Obon Festival is heavily influenced by the Ghost Festival of Buddhism and the Chinese Taoist Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang) 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 Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration is composed of the honorific prefix Template:Transliteration and the word Template:Transliteration. The Template:Transliteration portion is from the longer Japanese names Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo, in turn from the Chinese terms Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) or Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration).
The Chinese terms are often described as deriving from Sanskrit Template:Transliteration 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">Template:Cite journal</ref> in addition, it would be the present participle of verb Sanskrit Template:Transliteration ("to hang", intransitive), with no inherent "upside-down" meaning.<ref>ullamb-related entries at SpokenSanskrit.org website</ref><ref>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 Template:Transliteration ceremonies are about helping the dead, closer in meaning to the "helping" sense of the Pali verb Template:Transliteration ("raising, helping"), present participle of Template:Transliteration ("to raise up, to help").<ref>ulllumpana entry at The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary websiteTemplate:Dead link</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 Template:Transliteration, a colloquial corruption of the Pali Template:Transliteration ("raising up; saving; helping"), and that the etymology was mistakenly attributed to Sanskrit.
Practices
Template:More citations needed section
Template:Nihongo is a style of dancing performed during Obon. It is a folk entertainment, which has a history of nearly 600 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Originally a Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration folk songs. Consequently, the Bon dance appears different from region to region. Hokkaidō is known for the folk-song Template:Transliteration. The song Template:Transliteration takes its namesake from the capital of Japan. Template:Transliteration in Gujō in Gifu Prefecture is famous for all night dancing. Template:Transliteration is a folk song from Shiga Prefecture. Residents of the Kansai area will recognize the famous Template:Transliteration. Tokushima in Shikoku is very famous for its Template:Transliteration, and in the far south, one can hear the Template:Transliteration of Kagoshima.
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 Template:Transliteration. The Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration. Some dances reverse during the dance, though most do not. At times, people face the Template:Transliteration and move towards and away from it. Still some dances, such as the Kagoshima Template:Transliteration dance, and the Tokushima Template:Transliteration, simply proceed in a straight line through the streets of the town.
The dance of a region can depict the area's history and specialization. For example, the movements of the dance of the Template:Transliteration (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 Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration which may have colourful designs. Some require the use of small wooden clappers, or Template:Transliteration, during the dance.
The music that is played during the Bon dance is not limited to Obon music and Template:Transliteration; some modern Template:Transliteration hits and kids' tunes written to the beat of the Template:Transliteration are also used to dance to during Obon season.
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" />
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. Template:ISBN.</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 Template:Nihongo3 or Template:Nihongo3,<ref>Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, available online via the Kotobank entry for shōryō uma here (in Japanese)</ref><ref>Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, available online via the Kotobank entry for ushi uma here (in Japanese)</ref> that act as a vessel for the ancestors to come back home and return, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Clothing
As Obon occurs in the heat of the summer, participants traditionally wear Template:Transliteration, 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 Template:Webarchive.</ref>
Festivals of shared origin
Buddhism
Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyuans' version of the Obon celebration is known as Template:Transliteration. 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 Template:Transliteration. Similarly, the Yaeyama Islands have Template:Transliteration, Yonaguni Island have Template:Transliteration.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Korea
The Korean version of the Obon celebration is known as Template:Transliteration. 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">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Cho2005">Template:Cite book</ref>
Vietnam
Hinduism
Template:Transliteration (literally "fortnight of the ancestors") is a 16–lunar day period in Hindu calendar when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors (Template:Transliteration), especially through food offerings. Template:Transliteration is considered by Hindus to be inauspicious, given the death rite known as Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration 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>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</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 Template:Transliteration shows and typical dances.<ref>"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 Template:Transliteration dancing and Template:Transliteration dance. It also features Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration 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>Template:Cite web</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
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>Template:Cite journal</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>Template:Cite news</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>Template:Cite news</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>Template:Cite news</ref>
BCA temples in the U.S. typically celebrate Obon Festival with both religious obon observances and traditional Template:Transliteration dancing around a Template:Transliteration.<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, "Japanese Americans keeping Obon tradition alive", San Francisco Chronicle, Friday, July 8, 2005</ref><ref>Schulze, Margaret, "Obon Story: Honoring ancestors, connecting to our community" Template:Webarchive, in the NikkeiWest newspaper, San Jose, California, Vol. 10, No. 14, July 25, 2002</ref><ref>"Obon Basics" – San Jose Taiko, California Template:Webarchive</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>Template:Cite news</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>Template:Cite news</ref>
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>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</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 Template:Transliteration from Kyushu, continues with songs such as Template:Transliteration, Template:Transliteration, Asatoya Yunta and Ashibina from Okinawa Prefecture, and modern dances such as the Baseball Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration for children, and typically ends with Template:Transliteration, celebrating abundant harvest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The participants, Japanese descendants and the people of all races, dance in a big circle around the Template:Transliteration, 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>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Bon Dance Overseas – Hawaii (in ten web pages) Template:Webarchive (in Japanese)</ref>
Japanese museums and other cultural organizations also hold summer festivals inspired by obon, such as the Morikami Museum in Florida,<ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</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
- Template:Transliteration, 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
References
Bibliography
- Template:Cite book
- Marinus Willem de Visser: Ancient Buddhism in Japan – Sutras and Ceremonies in Use in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. and their History in Later Times. 2 volumes, 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. Template:ISBN
- Ensho Ashikaga (1950), The Festival for the Spirits of the Dead in Japan, Western Folklore 9 (3), 217–228 Template:Registration required
External links
Template:Wiktionary Template:Commons category
- List All Japanese Obon Festivals & Bon Odori Practices – Schedule
- Bon Dance: Description of various Bon Dance styles and resources. (archived 17 December 2009)
- Obon Festival in Japan Template:Webarchive
- Photo Gallery of Bon Odori 2007 in Penang, Malaysia
- El Bon Odori de La Plata en Argentina
Template:Japan topics Template:Asia in topic Template:Halloween