Bon Odori: Celebrating Obon in Japan

If you’ve been in Japan for a while, you may have heard the word Obon floating around during these excruciatingly hot summer months.

Obon (お盆; “Japan’s festival of the dead”) is a Buddhist custom held in honor of one’s ancestors. Although Obon isn’t a national holiday, it’s very common for Japan’s workforce to take leave to visit their hometowns. During obon, families prepare to receive the ones who have “gone on,” in various ways. As well as visiting the deceased’s grave, families will dance bon odori to lure their spirits home.

The three days of Obon you celebrate may depend on your area or traditions. If you live in Tokyo, Yokohama or the Tohoku region, you’ll have a Shichigatsu (July) Obon. In Shikoku, the Chugoku region and Okinawa, Obon is called Kyu Bon (Old Obon). Elsewhere, you celebrate Hachigatsu (August) Obon, which is the most commonly celebrated.

When I first heard of it being described as a celebration or festival, I thought to myself, surely it’s disrespectful to celebrate the death of one’s ancestors. Apparently, the Japanese are a glass-half-full type. They rather see it as an opportunity to see loved ones again.

Bon Odori Origins

Obon has been celebrated in Japan for nearly 500 years. Traditionally, people danced to lure the spirits of their ancestors home. This dance is called Bon Odori (盆踊り; “bon dance.”) The dance is a joyous one. You can’t help but smile when your hands are in the air, swaying from side to side, jostling with the random neighboring swayers. If I told you the story behind the bon dance, you’d mutter, “Uso!” (ウソ！), which literally means “lie.”

Bon Odori originates from the story of Maha Maudgalyayana (Mokuren). Mokuren, one of the disciples of Buddha, used his supernatural powers to find his deceased mother. Upon finding her, he discovered that she was in the realm of the Hungry Ghosts and was suffering. Distressed, he consulted Buddha, who instructed Maha to make offerings to the many Buddhist monks on the 15th day of the seventh month. Maha bowed and obeyed. Upon his mother’s release, he put his arms in the air and did a victory dance. Or rather, what we now know as the Bon Odori.

Bon Odori photos by Guilhem Vellut; cemetery photo by Emran Kassim.

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