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EveryParampara

Next: 13 to 15 Aug 2027

Obon

Mid-August festival for the ancestors: lanterns welcome the spirits home, bon odori dances follow, and fires send them back.

Obon: Mukaebi of the Bon Festival . Taken in Numazu , Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Photo: Batholith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When is Obon in 2027?

Obon 2027 runs from 13 to 15 August 2027. Other years: 2026, 13 to 15 August 2026; 2028, 13 to 15 August 2028.

About Obon

Obon is a Buddhist festival of the dead, held in most of Japan on 13 to 15 August. Families clean their ancestors' graves, set up a small altar, the bon dana, in the house, and light a welcoming fire, mukaebi, at the door so the spirits can find their way home. Offerings of food and fruit are made, and vegetable sculptures, shaped from cucumber and aubergine into a horse and cow, are set out so the ancestors may ride swiftly home and travel slowly back. The communities hold bon odori dances in circles around a raised drum platform, wearing summer yukata. On the final evening, an okuribi fire or floating lanterns, toro nagashi, sees the spirits off, and the best known is Kyoto's Gozan no Okuribi on the mountains.

Obon dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearObon date
202613 to 15 August 2026
202713 to 15 August 2027
202813 to 15 August 2028

What is eaten

  • somen
  • dango
  • seasonal fruit

Traditions of Obon

Gozan no OkuribiThe mountain bonfires of Kyoto.

Also part of it, and being written: Bon Odori (The communal dance of the season.), Toro nagashi (The floating of lanterns on rivers.).

More marked on Obon

🇯🇵 Tokushima, JapanAwa Dance Festival阿波踊り A summer street dance festival held in Tokushima during the Buddhist season of ObonFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 3 moreObonお盆 (Obon) A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance, light, and family reunion.Festival 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi) A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Obon" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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