Jessica and I went to the Seattle Buddhist Temple's Bon Odori (Obon) Festival again this year, and it was as pretty as ever. They close off the street and hang paper lanterns and have traditional dancing in the street. Its very lively with many people dressed in traditional clothes. The guys look kinda cool in their robes and the women and girls are beautiful in their colorful kimonos. My little phone camera doesn't do any justice, but I put the pics up anyway.
Bon Odori, or Obon, dates back to 6th century China and is a primary festival of Japanese Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. The purpose of the festival is to pay respects to one's ancestors.
The Seattle Buddhist Temple is of this Jodo Shinshu 'branch' of Buddhism, which is primarily found in Japan. It has always seemed to me that the Japanese consider that if something is worth doing, its worth doing prettily. Obon is no exception, its very pretty. And, since its mostly Japanese people running around, its an