Bon holidays
In Japan, we have a custom having consecutive holidays before and after 15th of August, called BON-YASUMI ; Bon holidays. It is for about four days or for about one week. Many companies and shops, big or small, close their offices during this period to let their employees to be away from the work in order to go back to their “Furusato, home town” to meet their parents, grandparents, to visit their ancestor’s graves or to enjoy having good time with their old friends. During this Bon holidays people enjoy Village festival, like Bon- Odori(Bon Dancing Festival). Some people, taking this opportunity, go traveling but the original purpose of Bon holidays is for people to visit Furusato and to visit family graves. As you may understand by reading followings, Bon is the one of important seasonal events for Japanese to remind them the ancestors as well as Furusato and the history of their families having been living there.
*as for more details of “Furusato”, please refer to the story
Bon in August as well as in July
Bon is the Buddhist observance, the period and manner of procedure differ in each area in Japan and Buddhism sects, holding on 15th of July. People pray for the family’s deceased and ancestors by offering altarage such as flowers, fruits or vegetables and show appreciations of living in the current world. Bon was primarily on the day of 15th of July by the lunar calendar which was popular in East Asia until its revision of calendar system to the solar one by the Meiji government in 1872. Although the official calendar system had been changed, the day of Bon custom have been remained and unchanged on the day by lunar calendar except the capital Tokyo. As August Bon is adopted in most of district, most of companies employ Bon holidays for four days or one week before and after 15th of August.
Overcrowded Shinkansen , airports, and highways.
During Bon holidays, almost of stations of Shinkansen, airports, highways and even hotels and accommodation facilities are always congested as same as in New Years holidays or in the Golden week in May, so it is advisable for tourists from overseas to consider to change their itineraries if it is in August. In these periods, as many Japanese with their families go traveling or return to their Furusato, home town, it takes much more time to transfer from one city to another.
Derivation
“Bon盆” is the abbreviation of “URA-BON-E盂蘭盆会” and means originally the Buddhist ritual praying for the family’s deceased and ancestors on 15th of July by the lunar calendar. Buddhism originated in 5th century B.C. in north India and transmitted to China in 1st century A.D. with having been merged with Chinese original religion, Taoism, and others. The sutra of “URA-BON-KYO盂蘭盆経” of such Chinese Buddhism tells a story that ;
” Mokuren, one of big ten disciples of Buddha Shakyamuni, consulted his reverend how to rescue his mother fallen into the hell and had received the answer, “ Devoting foods to monks being trained together on 15th of July, the last day of summer exercise, “ANGO安居”, by doing so, your mother could also have some of those foods.” And finally his mother could get out of the hell by the teaching of the Buddha.“
Based on this story, URA-BON-KYO tells that on the 15th of July devoting foods to monks as well as your ancestors and deceased of family make you escape from suffering in their livelihoods as well as having longevity. This teaching had rooted in China and prevailed among people in Japan as well.
BON in Japan
“O-BON” is the day when many of Japanese nationals pray for ancestors. According to the Nihon-shoki (日本書紀 Chronicles of Japan), Emperor Saimei conducted Ura-Bon-E at temples in Kyoto, then capital of Japan, as an official ceremony on 15th of July in 657 to pray for ancestors of Emperor’s family and after that, in Nara and Heian era (8th to12th century) the then government had become implementing the Ura-Bon-E as the official ritual on a continuous basis. In Kamakura era (12th to 14th century), Japanese had started to pray for not only ancestors and family deceased but also for the dead not in particular and this custom had been keeping until throughout Japan.
Meet the soul of the dead
The current Bon custom in Japan is an amalgamation of two concept, ”Ura-Bon-E” and Japan’s indigenous religion, the ancestor’s soul worship, having the mind being protected and being guided by ancestors’ spirit in heaven with feeling of appreciation to them. The feeling connecting with ancestor’s spirit exists, I assume, in the Japanese cultural thought of respect and appreciation, and a few sometime blame the negative chain of events as ancestors’ sins. With all such thoughts, Japanese go to Buddhist temple and family graves to pray for them.
Summary
In Japan, not only people who think themselves as Buddhists but also who do not consider understand what is “BON盆” and what should be done during the period. We go to Buddhist temples and the family graves during Bon period in July or Old Bon in August and pray for ancestors or the deceased of the family. Especially in Old Bon period, 13th to 16th in August, many corporations and enterprises close the offices to let employees to go back to their Furusato, home town, for praying on Bon events. If people cannot visit the family graves due to the location far from living area, some go to the famous temples near-by, such as Sensoji Tokyo, for praying ancestors.
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