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The Unusual and Surprising Ways Nagasaki Residents Celebrate Obon, the Spirit Festival

Posted on by angelo
The Unusual and Surprising Ways Nagasaki Residents Celebrate Obon, the Spirit Festival

One of the few places in Japan where you will see families setting off fireworks at the cemetery.

When you grow up, you tend to think that everything your family and friends do is the same as everyone else. It’s only when you grow up and travel beyond your hometown that you realize your “normal” may not be the same as everyone else’s.

This is what happened to our journalist Mariko Ohanabatake, who always thought the way his family in Nagasaki celebrated Obon was the way everyone else in Japan did it. Obon, which usually takes place from August 13 to 16, honors the spirits of dead ancestorswho are believed to visit their living loved ones during this time, and in most parts of the country, lights, usually in the form of lanterns or fires, are usually lit to help the spirits return home. At the end of Obon, lanterns are sent into rivers, lakes and seas to symbolically send the spirits back to the other world.

▼ Nagasaki is particularly famous for its “seirin nagashi” (“spirit boat procession”), which takes place in various locations across the prefecture.

Although Nagasaki’s impressive spirit farewell ceremony is relatively well known, the way locals greet the spirits and spend time with them is a surprise to everyone outside the prefecture. In Nagasaki, Families light fireworks on the graves of their deceased ancestors.

Setting off fireworks is a common summer activity in Japan, but in most parts of the country it would be considered disrespectful towards shooting fireworks in a cemetery. However, this is not the case in Nagasaki, where this is all part of how they help guide the spirits of their ancestors back to their homeland.

In the evening, families gather for Obon and before sunset they set off fireworks, mainly those that make noise, such as firecrackers, yabiya (firework rockets) and parachutes.

Once it gets dark, people are turning to handheld fireworks, small fireworks and sparklersThe light of the fireworks and the sound of children’s voices can be heard throughout the cemetery, creating a lively atmosphere.

▼ At first glance it might look like a fire, but it’s actually people enjoying fireworks in a cemetery.

Whenever Mariko spoke to people from other prefectures about her obon traditions, their jaws would drop and they would say things like, “It is impolite to use fireworks on graves during Obon!“However, Mariko, who had long thought it was normal, thought they were the weird ones. From her point of view, cemeteries are in the open airand equipped with candles, incense And buckets of waterSo this seems like the perfect place to set off fireworks.

▼ If you’re not shooting fireworks in a cemetery, then you’re not celebrating properly.

▼ Another unusual way to celebrate in Nagasaki is to place lanterns not only on houses but also on graves, and some of these graves are decorated with gold.

For Mariko and many others in Nagasaki, Obon remains a fun childhood memory, where relatives gather and set off fireworks while enjoying drinks and food together at the grave. The celebration typically takes place on three consecutive nights from August 13 to 15, with families staying at the grave for about two hours, eating and drinking while speaking fondly of their memories of the deceased.

▼ Food and drink are often the deceased’s favorites, and this year Mariko brought her late mother’s favorite pastries to eat at her grave.

▼ As for fireworks, several stores in the area sell them in the summer, like this popular place which is usually a plastic model store at other times of the year.

People from other prefectures would be shocked to see people drinking alcohol and eating food like bento on a grave, but to Mariko, there’s nothing weird about it. It’s not like it’s a wild party, it’s just a family enjoying food and drink together like they normally do, and the reason families can stay there for a long time is because the structure of the grave is different from those in other regions.

▼ First of all, the area in front of the tomb is large, with room for about two or three tatami mats, and it is separated from the neighboring tomb by a wall.

There is also a stone bench inside the tomb that serves as both a storage space and a place to sit. On the tombs of wealthy families, there may even be both benches and tables.

The night views from the cemetery Mariko visits are breathtaking, and since Nagasaki is mostly hilly, cemeteries are usually located on high slopes, making them a pleasant place to spend time.

▼ From Mariko’s family cemetery, you can see the blue sea and sky of Nagasaki, as well as the setting sun.

▼ The cemetery is more beautiful at night than any other tourist spot in the area.

As she passes Obon at the cemetery with this view and her family by her side, Mariko feels as if her late mother and grandparents are enjoying the view and fireworks with her. While some people may find it odd to spend so much time at a grave each year, Mariko wouldn’t miss it for the world as she has fond memories of her mother and grandparents and looks forward to their temporary return each summer. With each sparkle, it’s as if they are there by her side, commenting on the beauty of the glow.

▼ “Oh, that’s a nice spark you’ve got there, Mariko!”

▼ Mariko found another beautiful firework called “Angel Fire”, which glowed like ethereal fireballs.

In Japan, many Japanese people stick toothpicks into eggplants and cucumbers to represent the cow and horse that ancestral spirits use to return to the world of the living, but this tradition does not exist in Nagasaki. Obon customs certainly differ from region to region, but Nagasaki is perhaps the prefecture that differs the most.

When you travel outside of your hometown, your eyes can be opened to many new things, but for Mariko, she will always find comfort in lighting fireworks at the cemetery with her ancestors.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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(Read in Japanese)