| Bon is an age-old Buddhist custom of honoring one’s ancestors. After entering Japan via China more than 1000 years ago, Bon combined with local customs to create the Japanese Bon Festival. Bon is a time for families to come together and honor the departed, but specific traditions vary from family to family and region to region—even the timing of the festival varies, with Tokyo and other parts of eastern Japan observing Bon in July and much of the rest of the country celebrating it in August. The spirits of one’s ancestors are said to return home during Bon. “Okuribi” or “send-off fires” are then lit on the final day, when ancestors return the spirit world. Kyoto’s “Gozan no Okuribi” is famous for its “daimonji”, which burns in the shape of the character for “grand”. |
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