Thanks to Our Ancestors - お盆 Obon

Aug 11, 2023
 

お盆に川で灯篭(とうろう)流しをしたり、花火大会や盆踊りをしたり、京都では山の上に「大」の字の火をたいたりします。

There are a variety of events related to obon. For example, you can see floating candles on the river in many places. Firework festivals and bon-dances are also enjoyed around the obon period. On 16th, the fire of the letter -dai(big)is made in Kyoto.

日本では813日から16日まで「お盆」で、814日にご先祖さまが帰宅します。 東京では明治時代以前の旧暦に従って、713日から16日です。

13th16th of August is obon every year and it is believed that our ancestors will come back home on 14th. But in Tokyo, it is between 13th and 16th of July by following the old calendar (lunar calendar)used before Meiji period.

見えなくてもその存在を信じるのが日本人の心のような気がします。今回はお盆について、①日本人の感謝の心、②お盆にすることについてお話ししたいと思います。何か学びがあればうれしいです。

It seems that Japanese people believe something invisible. I would like to share about 1) Japanese soul – appreciation and 2) things to do during obon. I hope it will be beneficial for your learning. 

①年に一回お盆になると、ご先祖さまが「この世」に戻ってくると信じられています。これはご先祖さまにお礼をするいい機会になります。今の自分があるのはご先祖さまのおかげだという感謝の気持ちの表れなんですね。そんなご先祖さまが平安であることも祈る機会でもあります。

1)We believe that our ancestors come back to konoyo (this/our world)' once a year. This is a great opportunity to appreciate them. This is because we are here now thanks to them. Therefore, we wish for their peace at the same time.

②一般的に13日に家の前で火をたいて、あの世からご先祖さまが迷わないで家に帰ってこられるようにします。14日と15日の間にお墓参りをして、親族で集まって食事をします。16日の夕方、「あの世」に無事に帰れるように火をたきます。

2) Normally on 13th, people make a small fire in front of the house in order to show the way to come back home for the ancestors from anoyo (that over there/their world). On 14th and 15th they visit the cemetery and have a gathering with their relatives. On 16th, they make a small fire again in the evening in order to show the way back to anoyo

お盆は祭日ではありませんが、休みになる会社が多いので、帰省して親族と過ごす人や旅行に出かける人もいます。

In addition, obon is not a national holiday but many companies make a holiday during this time. Some people go back to their hometown and some go on a trip.

私はしばらく夏に日本に帰っていませんが、以前はお墓参りに行ったり、祖父母の仏壇がある親戚の家にあいさつに行ったりしました。今も、祖父がマラソンで取った金メダルを大切にしています。

I have not been back to Japan in summer, but I used to visit the cemetery and meet my relatives at obon. My precious thing from my grandfather is his gold medal when he won the marathon before I was born.

みなさんの国でも「お盆」のような行事がありますか。ご先祖さまへの考え方は世界共通でしょうか。

Do you have something like obon in your country too? Is the attitude towards our ancestors similar or common among us? I hope you have learnt something for your life.

Mineko Arai  

Managing Director

Arai Academy of Japanese Studies

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