Death around the world: Obon festival, Japan

Women perform the traditional Bon Odori dance to celebrate Obon. Photo by Guilhem Vellut.

Culturally and traditionally, Japan has always placed a great deal of importance on honouring the spirits of departed ancestors. Each summer, Japan has a three-day national holiday dedicated to remembering family members who have died in a festival known as Obon or Bon.

Obon festival is all about honouring the dead, whether they be close relatives or ancient ancestors. Obon is a Buddhist holiday and has been celebrated in Japan for around 500 years. These three days are when the spirits of the dead are said to return from the afterlife to visit their descendants.

The story behind this Buddhist festival starts with a man named Maha Maudgalyayana, a disciple of Buddha. Distressed at the death of his mother, Maha used his special spiritual powers to see her in the afterlife. What he saw did not comfort him – she had mistakenly fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, a place inhabited by the spirits of greedy and selfish humans, turned into ravenous monsters.

Distraught at his mother’s suffering in the afterlife, Maha spoke to Buddha, asking him how he could free his mother from this realm. Buddha instructed Maha to make offerings to the monks who had just completed their summer retreat.

The Scroll of Hungry Ghosts, from around 800 AD, shows Maha begging the Buddha for advice after seeing the spirit of his mother.

Maha did what Buddha commanded and his mother was released from the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. Maha now understood all the sacrifices his mother had made for him and her true acts of selflessness. Overjoyed by the realisation of her selfless love and her freedom from the Hungry Ghosts, Maha danced with happiness.

The story of Maha Maudgalyayana reminds those celebrating Obon to appreciate the gifts given to them by their ancestors and their family. This is why Obon is also traditionally a time for family reunions. Adult children often return to their family homes to be with their parents and relatives.

Maha’s dance of joy is also remembered during Obon. The Bon Odori dance is performed in towns and cities all over Japan. Usually a wooden scaffold or stage is built in a public place like a town square or park. Known as a yagura, the stage is where singers and musicians perform traditional songs while members of the community gather to dance the Bon Odori.

Local families dance the Bon Odori around the yagura while musicians play traditional songs. Photo by Guilhem Vellut.

Each region has a different variation of the Bon Odori dance, with different moves and ways of performing it. Often the dancers will move in a circular pattern around the yagura, or sometimes the dance will form a procession, moving through the streets of the town.

Over the course of the three days, Japanese families will return to the graves of ancestors and relatives. The graves will be cleaned and sometimes offered food or flowers.

Similar to the Mexican tradition of ofrendas during Day of the Dead, Japanese families make altars in their homes for the returning spirits. Here they will make offerings of food, flowers and incense. Traditionally, courgettes and aubergines are carved or modelled in the shape of horses and cows, known as kyuri uma and nasu ushi. It is believed that the spirits can use these animals to journey back to the afterlife once Obon is complete.

A traditional altar for offerings to the spirits, with kyuri uma on the left and nasu ushi on the right. Photo by Kazuhiro Kimura.

Fire and light are also symbolically important during Obon. Japanese families may hang paper lanterns outside their houses in order to light the way for the returning spirits. At the end of the festival, families help the spirits go back to the afterlife with a guiding fire, known as Okuribi. Often Okuribi takes the form of a floating paper lantern, placed onto a river, lake or the sea.

Obon is about honouring your ancestors and reflecting upon the sacrifices made by them for their family. However, it is also a time for joyous celebration. Though it may be a time for bereaved families to commemorate those they have lost, there is always an emphasis on paying tribute with dancing, music and light.