Obon

Yesterday marked the last day of the Obon festival here in Kyoto. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist festival to remember and honor ones deceased ancestors, and according to Wikipedia the actual start and end date depend on the region of Japan you're in. At some point in my Japanese education I had heard that people lit giant kanji made from bonfires in order to lead their ancestors back to the family home. Something akin to “Turn south at the giant boat symbol.” It turns out this is somewhat backward- my accidental guide last night, a 50-year alumn of my JET High School, explained that the fires are lit to usher the spirits back to their eternal reward at the end of the Obon festival (which lasts for three or so days). Thus the fires are a send off instead of road markers. Also, there are Daimonji (the name for these giant characters) other places in Japan, but Kyoto is the best known for them.

Anyway, we assembled on the roof of Rakuhoku High School and watched the hills light up. Of the six Daimonji around Kyoto city we could see five of them- and given that hotels were charging for the view on their roofs I think the faculty and families of Rakuhoku did very well! I took photographs of four of the Daimonji, the fifth was at an angle and identical to the first anyway. If you would like to see better pictures of these bonfire kanji, check them out on google images- there are better photographers with better cameras than I!

Dai

Myo

Hou

Fune (a boat, not actually a kanji but still pretty damn cool!)

Near the end of the bonfire display the moon came out- low and full and almost as orange as the fires. It was a cool way to end the Daimonji viewing!

Until next time!

-Andrew