With the heat of summer hitting its peak (and staying at this peak) we learned that Sasebo was ready to host the city's biggest festival: Obon. To prepare for the festivities, our friend group got together for dinner and then headed to Book Off, the local thrift store, to find yukatas.
If you are like us, you have no clue what a yukata is. After being educated by Dave and Jaime Doebrick, we learned that yukatas are traditional Japanese outfits made of cotton and famously worn to summer festivals! Similar in style to the more widely-known kimonos, which are normally made of silk and cost 10x as much, the yukata is supposed to keep you cooler and offer a chance to show off some bright, summer colors!
After trying on several variations of this traditional outfit, Bryan and I picked out our very own yukatas! Nobody was surprised to see Bryan's NC State-themed attire! I was happy to find a bright blue polyester yukata that reminded me of my EWHS cheerleading days!
On August 15, after surviving my first teacher workday filled with endless meetings and trainings, I headed to Meg and Mike's apartment to get ready for the festival! We began by watching youtube videos trying to learn how to tie the guys' obis, the colored belt fabric, before getting dressed for the night event!
We met up with the rest of the gang at Nimitz park for pictures! Check us out in our yukatas!!!!
With all the pictures taken, we walked towards the ruckus! Once in the central park, we witnessed families carrying homemade wooden boats filled with lanterns, lights, paintings, and leis of flowers. As the people walked by with their floats, family members shot off firecrackers in the streets!
Now you are questioning what Obon even is. I got you:
Obon is a traditional Buddhist festival that celebrates the lives of people who have passed away within the last year. Rather than a somber event, Obon is filled with laughter, creativity and drinking, as families show off the wooden boats they have built to honor the departed. These boats are decorated to honor loved ones and firecrackers are set off to ward off evil spirits as they parade up and down the city streets. The Obon Festival ends with a giant burning of the floats and offerings as a smoke signal to guide those who were lost to their final resting place.
Check out some clips from Sasebo's Obon Festival:
We weren't exactly sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we were stunned by the community gathering! Meg even snapped the below photo of the "fire hunters," whose sole job was to keep the firecrackers from setting the floats and passing cars on fire!
Bryan and I were blown away with the creativity of these wooden boats! Some floats could easily be carried by one or two people, while others were the size of school buses! Some of our favorites included a paint truck, a pirate ship, a giant neon-green dump truck, a red corvette (for a lost dog!) and a float with the Sasebo Harbor silhouette. Once the family paraded their family float up the street, they placed them in an empty parking lot for others to see.
With rumbling bellies, we paused for dinner at a local pizza shop, where we ate and watched as more floats were brought up the street. After a while our friend Lisa, the restaurant owner, met up with us to end our Obon night!
Rumor had it that all the floats would be set on fire after 9:30 pm, so we continued wandering the area with hopes of witnessing the full Obon ceremony. In another giant parking lot, a local Buddhist temple set up a makeshift temple, where families could buy bundles to honor past family members as well. With the giant tarps down, we were guessing these offerings would be lit as well.
At 10 pm, there was no sign of burning the floats, so we called it a night and headed back to Meg and Mike's place to get our car. While we didn't get to see the final ceremony of Obon, we can happily end the night feeling a part of the Sasebo community! Now it's time to lower our car and head back to Hario!
'til next time,
Katie
Love your Japanese attire!! Please bring it home… multicultural event display!!! And they set the floats on fire!!??? Not after all that work! So happy that you two are joining in!! Love you!