Next: 13 to 16 Aug 2027
Obon
Paper lanterns to guide the ancestors home, indigo and white cotton yukata, and fires on the hills of Kyoto.
The colours of Obon
Obon is the Japanese season when the spirits of ancestors return to visit. Families clean the graves and hang lanterns to show the way. A household in its first Obon after a death hangs a plain white lantern; in other years the lanterns are painted with flowers and autumn grasses. In the evenings people dance bon odori in a ring round a wooden tower hung with red and white lanterns, wearing yukata, light cotton robes, traditionally dyed indigo and white. A cucumber horse and an aubergine cow, green and purple, are set on the altar for the spirits to ride. On the last night lanterns are floated down rivers, and in Kyoto five great bonfires are lit on the hills to send the spirits back.
#F4C56ALantern glowCandlelight through paper, to guide the spirits.#26386BYukata indigoIndigo-dyed cotton worn for the dancing.#FBFBF5First-Obon whiteThe plain white lantern of a newly bereaved house.#D4322CFestival redRed and white lanterns round the dance tower.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Obon" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.