Obon in Japan: Ancestors, Bon Odori, Going Home and Phrases

What Obon is about

The full Buddhist name is urabon'e, but almost everyone says o-bon or simply bon. The idea is that the spirits of the family's ancestors, go-senzo-sama, return home for a short visit. Families clean the grave, prepare a small altar with offerings, and spend time together before sending the spirits back.

How religious it feels depends heavily on the family. For some it involves a priest visiting the home and careful rituals; for others it is mostly a summer trip to see parents and grandparents, with a quick visit to the grave on the way. Both are completely normal ways to keep Obon.

Why the dates are not the same everywhere

Obon was originally tied to the seventh month of the lunar calendar. When Japan switched to the solar calendar, regions made different choices, and the differences survive today. That is why you can hear two people from different parts of the country talk about Obon a month apart.

The mid-August Obon is by far the most widespread, and it is the one that drives the national holiday season and travel peak. Treat the table below as a general guide, since practice varies by family, temple and town.

If you live in an area with July Obon, you may find that your neighbours keep Obon in July while your company still closes in August. Asking kono hen wa o-bon wa shichigatsu nan desu ka, is Obon in July around here, is a perfectly natural question.

Mukaebi and okuribi: welcoming and sending off

On the first evening, many families light a small welcome fire, mukaebi, at the gate or entrance so the spirits can find their way home. On the last evening, a sending-off fire, okuribi, guides them back. Today this is often a small fire of hemp stalks in a clay dish, or simply a lantern, especially in apartments where open flames are not practical.

You may also see a cucumber and an aubergine with legs made of chopsticks or sticks. The cucumber is a horse so the ancestors can hurry home, and the aubergine is a cow so they can return slowly. Some towns float lanterns down a river on the last night, and Kyoto's large mountain bonfires on 16 August are a famous public form of okuribi.

Bon odori: the dance anyone can join

Bon odori is a circle dance held in parks, schoolyards and shrine grounds during the Obon period. A tower called a yagura stands in the middle with drummers or a sound system, and people dance slowly around it with simple repeated movements. Many local festivals combine bon odori with food stalls, which the post on summer festivals and fireworks covers in more detail.

The dances are designed to be learned by copying. Each region has its own songs, and you will often hear the same few tunes several times in one evening, so by the third round you can usually keep up.

Going home: kisei and the Obon rush

For many people, Obon means kisei, going back to their hometown or their parents' home, often called jikka. Because so many people travel at once, the days at the start of the holiday bring kisei rasshu, the homecoming rush, and the end brings the U-tān rasshu, the U-turn rush back to the cities.

News programmes report long motorway traffic jams and crowded bullet trains every year. If you plan to travel, reserved seats and accommodation tend to go early, and many people avoid the busiest days if they can.

Obon at work: holidays and small talk

Because Obon is not an official holiday, each workplace decides how to handle it. Some close for several days, some ask staff to take leave in turn, and some stay fully open. Before the break, colleagues ask each other about plans and remind clients about closures; after it, the first conversation of the morning is almost always about how the holiday went.

The respectful sugosaremashita ka is the standard form for a senior colleague or a client. With peers, dō deshita ka is enough, and with friends a casual o-bon wa dō datta works well. It is also common to bring back a box of sweets from your hometown to share at the office.

The last line is a typical example of a closure notice to clients; replace the dates with your company's actual schedule. For more on which services close during holidays, see the post on Japanese holidays and closures.

Visiting a grave and a first Obon

At the grave, families pull weeds, wash the headstone with water from a wooden bucket, offer flowers and incense, and put their hands together. If a friend invites you along, follow what the family does and keep conversation quiet and simple.

Hatsubon, the first Obon after a death, is more formal. Relatives and close friends may visit the home, and people often bring an offering or an envelope of money. If you are invited or want to express sympathy, the post on condolences and funerals explains the wider etiquette; the short lines below are safe starting points.