O-Bon

In mid-August, Matt and I decided to attend the O-bon (pronounced oh-bowhn) festival at the Japanese Gardens. The festival is celebrated in Japanese villages sometime during the late summer and is an event that occurs after they invite their ancestors to join them for three days. The event we attended is intended to send them back to the spirit world. It is a happy occasion.

We got there a little early, so we decided to do a quick stroll around the Rose Garden. We found a little side garden that didn't have any roses it. It had a plaque dedicating it to the soldiers of world war I. We thought that these trumpet flowers were incredible.


We arrived at the gardens, and were seated outside the gates in folding chairs. Because we arrived early, we got front row seats. I even was seated by the "garden ambassador" from Japan that came to Portland with his family to celebrate the festival! The event began with three dances. They were initially performed by Buddhist Temple members, and then the audience was invited to join in.

This woman has been leading the dancing for the O-Bon festival in Portland at this garden for the last 60 years. Wow.

Members of a local Buddhist temple dressed in traditional clothes performed three dances, accompanied by the drum.

After the temple members had performed the first dance, they invited anyone who wanted to participate to join in.

After the dancing, we were invited to enter the garden, and each of us was given a candle. We formed a line around the main pond, and as a Buddhist monk chanted, we filed past and had our candle lit and placed in the pond. The candles were to remember someone who had passed on that we loved. The garden was magical with all of the lights on the water and about 200 people standing in silence with the chanting in the background. It was a fun foray into the customs of another culture.