Obon

Last week was a bunch of random trips around Ogimi. Did hiking, kayaking, and made a coaster! The first day involved cutting down a banana tree, trimming off the outside bark, and then separating the layers of 'workable' bark. These were boiled, then we did some more skinning until we had a bunch of white 'ribbon'. The next day, we tore the 'ribbon' until it was thread like, and then tied them together to create one long string. This was put into a loom and I made my coaster!

This weekend was Obon. On mainland Japan, Obon is in July, but Okinawa follows the lunar calendar. On Saturday, the ancestors come by sea and the family drinks and eats to celebrate their arrival. On Sunday, more lounging around. Then on Monday, there is another feast and more drinking to send them off.

Elina and I were invited to Tachi's wife's family's house for the sending off party. The atmosphere was relaxed. We sat around eating and talking while watching some World Track and Field Championship that Japan was competing in. A few people would ask us if we were religious at all, and then say how in Okinawa, their religion is only ancestor worship.

I view it more as ancestor remembrance. After the eating, we went into a room where an alter was set up. Three pictures of the family's ancestor's were hung on the wall. I guess they were the only ones alive when there were cameras. Then someone lit bowls of incense and the elder people started praying. I was looking around the room, and I see the kids shuffling their feet, the young adults sitting in respectful silence, but it's the older people who were praying hard. This is why I say ancestor remembrance, because it struck me that to these older people, they're praying to their mom, dad, brother or sister. The people who were family to them for so long who are now dead. What began to disturb me was the idea of my picture being up on a wall some day.

We left after that. Later on, they will go to the beach to light incense and send them away. On the way back, Tachi stopped at the beach and we saw another family doing just that. Because Obon is scheduled according to the lunar calendar, we had a full moon to look at. It was all very allegorical: the sea being a 'life-death cycle' and the waxing and waning of the moon.

Japan likes to remind you that, yes, you will die too.