OBON / Japanese most important week for ancestors / Memorial August
Friday, July 21, 2017
photo by photolibrary
OBON week is just around the corner.(every middle of August/around 12-16th)
Highlight day is always 15th.
It is a Japanese holiday week and OBON is the most important event for our ancestor worship.
There is a Japanese word about OBON's importance.
"BON-KURE-SHOUGATSU"as Japanese main events.
BON → OBON week.
KURE → End of the year.
SHOUGATSU → New year.
Japanese other holidays are not so important.
OBON and New year season are very special for us.
In OBON,the gate of another world(death world) is opened temporarily.
So many dead ancestor's spirits are able to visit in the world.
Usually,suffering dead ancestors in the hell or near hell can't visit in the world.
They are not allowed to move to other space.
Only relieved ancestors in heaven can move freely.
But in the OBON week,all ancestors can move and visit this material world.
In Japan,there were some sad accidents in summer season especially in August.
The first big accident was "Mu,the lost continent".
It was terrible and Japan has been repeating sad accidents since then.
Nagasaki-Hiroshima and Japan Airlines Flight 123 also happened in August.
We have to be careful about accidents during OBON,because there is a distortion of space-time.
The distortion of space-time is big in Japan.
Other countries also have it a little during the week.
Most of Japanese people visit ancestral graves,and pray for them.
So,Japan has terrible traffic jam during the week.
In some prefectures in Japan,people prepare a cucumber horse and a eggplant cow
for Butsudan,Memorial table for ancestors.
Our ancestors ride the horse to visit this world.
Horse means quickness.Because they want to visit the world faster.
And then they enjoy the real world for a while.
Watching descendant's life,eating their favorite foods...
After that,they have to back to the another world by using a eggplant cow.
Cow means slowness.Because they miss the world.
People have to prepare new vegetable animals every day if they put them on Butsudan table.
I mean vegetable animals must be always new during OBON week
to avoid rotting.
I use long incense for OBON week.
Normal incense (length:about 13.5cm/burn time:about 30min)
Long incense (length:about 24.5cm/burn time:about 60min)
※90min is written on the red box,but it is not true.
I think it is 60min.
To prevent fire accident,please put a dish under the ash bowl.
Ash bowl can be hot sometimes.
I forgot to do at that time.
In fact,taking a photo of Butsudan table is rude.
But I would like to share this Japanese deepest culture.