Loved your descriptions of the differences between the bon odori of your youth and the current ones.
I guess that the last bon odori I attended was in the 1990s, although I may have interviewed some people at bon odori some ten years ago or so. So I was not really aware of the changes that you describe. Time to get the yukata out and check out some events nearby.
I love the atmosphere at bon odori. People are so obviously having fun.
Just realized that I don’t have many images of bon odori in my collection of vintage images of Japan. Time to rectify that!
Beautifully written, and I learned a LOT. Inspired by this, I think Imight just join in on my comunity's Bon Dori this year. I lost my mom this year and I was thinking, though she nor I am Japanese, that there's no reason why I can't dance with her spirit for a week. Thanks Hiroko!
I lost my mom, too; and I'm pretty sure - from experience - that if you do join, your mom will also. It's important to preserve these ancient festivals. They are just as relevant today as ever, even for us non-Japanese.
Yes, although what I write here is about Japanese traditions, but it isn't just for the Japanese. It's relevant for everyone. I'm sorry to hear about your loss.
Loved this! I have only gone to Bon Odori a couple times, at a temple in Northern Virginia, and I was surprised to find them using the 1970s song Beautful Sunday. I later learned there was a Japanese version of this song and it's also used elsewhere at Bon dances. I love the old music but it's also so cool when new things get incorporated to help keep a tradition alive and relevant.
Summer is the season for bon odori memories. I have photos of the huge one in the late 60’s in Yokohama. We looked forward to that and all the sights ,sounds, and smells that accompanied it.
Local Buddhist temples here usually have a small one , we are still able to participate.
When my children were younger I went every year to the Bon Odori at the local shrine. I loved how inclusive it was with people of all ages there. It is still going on and I can’t believe it has changed the way you’ve described but I should go and see for myself!
What an evocative piece of writing and a charming insight into something about which I knew almost nothing. I guess re-visiting childhood memories can be quite a dangerous venture due to the risk of bursting bubbles, distorted memories and so on; but you seem to have had a positive experience overall. Thank you for sharing it - and your yukata is absolutely gorgeous. I want one!
Thank you for this fun introduction into bon odori! My memories around obon are mainly offering tea to the ancestors with my tea group outside of Japan which was always more of a spiritual tea gathering rather than a festival.
I saw & heard bon odori in my neighbourhood maybe two weeks ago. It looked like a festival for kids, with families having picnics around the tiny neighbourhood shrine with the dancing & (recorded) traditional music. It made me a little sad that I have no local connections & didn't want to show up alone but I hope to participate one day. Maybe next year!
"Bon odori’s roots are spiritual in nature, but more like summer block parties in practice."
"All of this reminds me of how prayer and play are so intertwined in Japanese spirituality. From my experience in the West, prayer is a serious and even solemn thing. So perhaps the concept of playful spirituality might even seem sacrilegious. But not here. In Japan, spiritual traditions coexist with modern secular culture in all sorts of ways, such as the vibrant shopping streets leading to many Buddhist temples."
Excited to read more about how spirituality in Japan infuses daily life in ways even most Japanese — at least my better half here in Kamakura—are unaware.
Thank you for this nice Obon word dance. much love
In fact, I'm putting the finishing touches on a book about that very topic. I'm not quite ready to announce it just yet, but I'm looking forward to doing it in the near future! Thanks for reading!
I remember bon-odori evenings from the early and mid-1990s on - in Matsue-shi in Shimane-ken, from Shimonoseki-shi in Yamaguchi-ken, from Ube-shi - over various summers during my many years in Japan. The contemporary version you describe here is, sadly, believable! But I have such good memories from 30 years ago - and all the stalls and music and lanterns!
Loved your descriptions of the differences between the bon odori of your youth and the current ones.
I guess that the last bon odori I attended was in the 1990s, although I may have interviewed some people at bon odori some ten years ago or so. So I was not really aware of the changes that you describe. Time to get the yukata out and check out some events nearby.
I love the atmosphere at bon odori. People are so obviously having fun.
Just realized that I don’t have many images of bon odori in my collection of vintage images of Japan. Time to rectify that!
Thank you for the wonderful post. Especially loved the Bon Odori with Bon Jovi! So joyful. The new mixed with tradition.
Beautifully written, and I learned a LOT. Inspired by this, I think Imight just join in on my comunity's Bon Dori this year. I lost my mom this year and I was thinking, though she nor I am Japanese, that there's no reason why I can't dance with her spirit for a week. Thanks Hiroko!
Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it. And so sorry hear about your mother. I’m so sure she’s right with you.
I lost my mom, too; and I'm pretty sure - from experience - that if you do join, your mom will also. It's important to preserve these ancient festivals. They are just as relevant today as ever, even for us non-Japanese.
Yes, although what I write here is about Japanese traditions, but it isn't just for the Japanese. It's relevant for everyone. I'm sorry to hear about your loss.
Loved this! I have only gone to Bon Odori a couple times, at a temple in Northern Virginia, and I was surprised to find them using the 1970s song Beautful Sunday. I later learned there was a Japanese version of this song and it's also used elsewhere at Bon dances. I love the old music but it's also so cool when new things get incorporated to help keep a tradition alive and relevant.
Summer is the season for bon odori memories. I have photos of the huge one in the late 60’s in Yokohama. We looked forward to that and all the sights ,sounds, and smells that accompanied it.
Local Buddhist temples here usually have a small one , we are still able to participate.
When my children were younger I went every year to the Bon Odori at the local shrine. I loved how inclusive it was with people of all ages there. It is still going on and I can’t believe it has changed the way you’ve described but I should go and see for myself!
What an evocative piece of writing and a charming insight into something about which I knew almost nothing. I guess re-visiting childhood memories can be quite a dangerous venture due to the risk of bursting bubbles, distorted memories and so on; but you seem to have had a positive experience overall. Thank you for sharing it - and your yukata is absolutely gorgeous. I want one!
Wonderful 🙏
Thank you for this fun introduction into bon odori! My memories around obon are mainly offering tea to the ancestors with my tea group outside of Japan which was always more of a spiritual tea gathering rather than a festival.
I saw & heard bon odori in my neighbourhood maybe two weeks ago. It looked like a festival for kids, with families having picnics around the tiny neighbourhood shrine with the dancing & (recorded) traditional music. It made me a little sad that I have no local connections & didn't want to show up alone but I hope to participate one day. Maybe next year!
"Bon odori’s roots are spiritual in nature, but more like summer block parties in practice."
"All of this reminds me of how prayer and play are so intertwined in Japanese spirituality. From my experience in the West, prayer is a serious and even solemn thing. So perhaps the concept of playful spirituality might even seem sacrilegious. But not here. In Japan, spiritual traditions coexist with modern secular culture in all sorts of ways, such as the vibrant shopping streets leading to many Buddhist temples."
Excited to read more about how spirituality in Japan infuses daily life in ways even most Japanese — at least my better half here in Kamakura—are unaware.
Thank you for this nice Obon word dance. much love
In fact, I'm putting the finishing touches on a book about that very topic. I'm not quite ready to announce it just yet, but I'm looking forward to doing it in the near future! Thanks for reading!
I know! That's what you told me when I met you a few months ago here in Kamakura :)
I was wondering if I had met you already when you mentioned kamakura! It's nice to meet you again!
I remember bon-odori evenings from the early and mid-1990s on - in Matsue-shi in Shimane-ken, from Shimonoseki-shi in Yamaguchi-ken, from Ube-shi - over various summers during my many years in Japan. The contemporary version you describe here is, sadly, believable! But I have such good memories from 30 years ago - and all the stalls and music and lanterns!