Obon & Shoronagashi

Long time no blog... sorry! I've been lazy! Last Monday night (15th) I went with Odette (from Japanese class) and watched the Obon festival - Shoronagashi. Obon is a time when Japanese return to their home town to pray to their dead ancestors, who return home from the 13th - 15th August every year. On the evening of the 15th, the ancestors are said goodbye to in the Shoronagashi festival. At this time, boats are made for all who died within the last 12 months. The more important the person, the bigger the boat. The boats are covered with lanterns, and sometimes have a pic of the person on the front. They are carried in a big procession down the main street of the town. In most of Japan, this is done in silence, but in the Nagasaki prefecture, there are firecrackers galore!! I thought I was gonna go deaf! Traditionally, the boats were sent out to sea, but due to pollution issues, they are just taken to a big meeting place (in Sasebo, the local baseball park). I'm not sure what happens to them later.

I also stopped by the river, where prayers were being written on lanterns, which were then lit and floated down a river. It was very beautiful! (Once again, b/c of pollution issues, there was someone around the bend of the river to catch them before they got to the ocean!)

Although I'm obviously not into praying to the dead, it was interesting to watch this traditional Japanese occasion. Very beautiful! I love the way the Japanese have held onto their culture so much even though there is so much Western influence!

At this time in one week, I'll be in Tokyo!!! Yay!! The shift swaps were approved, and I've worked 8 days of my 12 days in a row that resulted from my swapping - almost time for a day off!

Still enjoying Japanese class. Bought a notebook, and today started my new habit of keeping a diary in Japanese! Today I wrote 4 sentences!! LOL! Between that and my inability to read The 3 Little Pigs, I feel like I'm back in kindergarten!!