In the traditional Asian almanac, August 7th marked the Risshu, or official Start of Autumn. this date may seem totally out of sync with the actual seasons; what with daytime temperatures still soaring into the mid-30s; but the late afternoon and early evening breezes blow stronger and cooler daily. The sun rises about 5 minutes later, and sets about 6 minutes earlier each week; and more importantly, the height of the sun above the southern horizon at zenith (around 11:45 in Tokyo) decreases about 2°each week.
This is the season for the Obon celebrations, and sweet burning incense blankets the land like a soft cloud. Obon marks the time when the spirits of deceased ancestors return home to feast and celebrate with the living. In this sense, the Japanese Obon shares folk cosmological elements in common with the Celtic celebration of Samhain (Halloween) and the Hispanic Dios de los Muertes, but without the macabre motifs and atmosphere.
Obon celebrations vary from region to region and from village to village. A catalogue of Obon customs all over Japan would require a full set of heavy encyclopedias. Typical customs are the mukae-bi, or ‘welcoming fire’ to guide the ancestral spirits in, and the okuri-bi or ‘send-off fire’ to see them on their way. In some communities the spirits are sent back on lanterns floated down a river or out to sea. Bon-odori dances, where participants perform a highly stylized dance while revolving slowly around a central scaffold on which the musicians sit and play, are conducted in most villages. Even people living in new residential areas often organize a bon-odori night.
Obon is a time for cleaning and decorating graves and the butsudan or home Buddhist altar that many people maintain. Local flower shops are stocked with hundreds of ready-made bouquets to be used as offerings to the returning spirits. Also available are bunches of a beautiful purple flower called misohagi. These perennial herbaceous plants grow wild in the surrounding countryside, and are also commercially cultivated for the cut flower market.
Misohagi, or purple loosestrife (Lythrum anceps) prefers wet habitats, and thrives around the edges of ponds or on the aze dikes separating the rice paddies. The flowers and leaves attach closely to long stiff stalks and upturned branches, about 50~100cm tall. The flowers have 4-6 petals. The hagi In the Japanese name refers to the purple bush clover, a popular autumn flower in the legume family. Miso may derive from mizo, a ditch or canal, referring to the species’ preferred habitat along the water’s edge; or from misogi, the practice of ritual water purification. In some areas, sprays of loosestrife are used to sprinkle water around as a means of ritual purification.
In many regions catching fish, insects or any animal, which might be spirit-world familiars helping the ancestors on their journey home, was considered taboo during the Obon season. One grasshopper species, the largest in the Japanese islands, is even called shoryo-batta. Batta is the generic term for grasshopper, and shoryo refers to the pure spirits of the ancestors. Known as Chinese grasshopper or pointed-nose grasshopper (Acrida cinerea) in English, females can reach lengths of 7cm or more. Like most species of grasshopper, males are considerable smaller. Colors vary among different shades of green and brown.
The big grasshoppers tend to metamorphose into adults just around the Obon season. A species of dragonfly also appears in large numbers at about the same time. This is the wandering glider (Pantala flavescens), an amazing dragonfly with light body and oversized wings that migrates over incredible distances. Studies have shown that flocks fly nonstop from southern India across the ocean to the coast of east Africa, then back again, a journey of about 3500km each way. Entomologists believe they reach altitudes of 6000 meters! The formal Japanese name for the wandering glider is usubaki-tonbo, but in some regions it is known locally as shoryo-tonbo.
Traditionally, the Obon celebrations began on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, which this year would correspond to August 18th. In 1873, however, the Japanese officially adopted the Gregorian calendar; and this year the mukae-bi will be lit on August 13th, and the okuri-bi on the 16th. For many people the actual vacation will extend from Saturday the 10th to Sunday the 18th. Trains, planes and roads will be packed all week!
