SIMILAR TO OTHER CULTURES, Obon is a time of ancestor worship and remembrance. Sometimes Obon’s honorific O is dropped, and the festival is referred to as Bon.
Japan’s regions may celebrate Obon differently and on different days, but the festival has three parts, which last three or four days.
The first part involves cleaning the family’s grave and returning home with lanterns to guide the spirits or have a bonfire in front of the house.
For the second part, families visit shrines or temples. They have a vegetarian lunch while sharing stories of departed loved ones whose spirits are visiting them. The Bon Odori, or Bon dance, occurs at night. People dance in a large circle with their ancestors’ spirits. Ghost stories are shared to prickle listeners’ skins and cool them from the hot nigh
