Obon, a Japanese Buddhist festival, is this weekend in Sacramento. Here’s what to expect

The Buddhist Church of Sacramento is holding festivities Saturday and Sunday in celebration of Obon, a Japanese Buddhist holiday commemorating the dead and honoring ancestors.

In Japan, Obon, an annual festival rooted in Japanese Buddhist tradition, is often celebrated in mid-August, but celebrations will take place in Northern California cities this year throughout July.

Throughout the morning and early afternoon of July 13, Obon services will be held at major cemeteries including Sacramento Memorial Lawn, East Lawn Memorial Park, and Odd Fellows Cemetery, as well as the Hondo, or main hall, of the Buddhist Church. The Bon Odori dance will take place in the evening at 7:30 p.m. at the temple.

“That’s a huge thing for our tradition — is honoring the dead, and it comes from the influence of Chinese ancestor worship on Japan,” said Matt Hamasaki, a resident minister at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento. The church follows the Jodo Shinshu tradition, a school of Japanese Buddhism.

Obon is a time when the souls of deceased ancestors are believed to return home for three days, and many visit the gravesites of loved ones to clean and decorate them. Obon festivals traditionally include a dance known as Bon Odori, which takes place near the end of the festival in the evening. This year, the Buddhist Church will be featuring a new dance, which community members had the chance to learn during group dance practices in the weeks leading up to Obon.

“This is a chance to showcase Japanese culture, Japanese dance, and ... it really is this cross section of the community,” said Sharon Ito, a member of the Church’s 125th anniversary committee. “They come out and they enjoy learning the dance, and then people — hopefully it’s not too hot — will enjoy coming out and see some of the dancers in their kimonos and then their yukata, which is the cotton kimono.”

The Church, which was founded in 1899, is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year with a banquet in November.

Obon festivals will also be held this month in other major cities in the region, such as San Francisco and San Jose. The Obon festival in San Jose’s Japantown is one of the largest in the United States, drawing thousands of attendees and more than 2,500 dancers each year, according to the festival’s Facebook page.

The free festival at the Buddhist Church will also include a memorial tribute video showing community members who have passed away throughout the Bon Odori. Finally, a Hatsubon service, the first service a family observes after the passing of a loved one, will take place the next morning, on Sunday.

Food such as beef teriyaki sandwiches and Gunther’s Freezes will be available for attendees starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

“That’s another part of the culture where it isn’t necessarily tied to the burial grounds like the cemetery,” Hamasaki said, referring to Obon celebrations. “There’s that culture of going (to the cemetery), but then also, at the temple that we host, there’s that feeling of connecting with your loved ones, which is not tied to a physical place.”

This story was originally published July 12, 2024 at 10:05 AM.