The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1891-10-14
FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD.D
A CURIOUS CELEBRATION OF THE
JAPANESE.

Decorating Shrines in Honor of the
Departed-FoOd Offerings-Send-
ing Back the Ghostly Visitants.
Lafcadio Hearn, in a paper in the At
ldntic, called "At the Market of the
Dead" thus describes the festival, to
supply the needs of which the market is
held.
From the 18th to the 18th day of July
is held the Festival of the Dead--the
Bommatsuri or Bonku--by some Euro
peans called the Feast of Lanterns. But
in many places there are two such festi-
walls annually; for those who still follow
the ancient reckoning of time by moons
hold that the Bommatsuri should fall on
the 18th, Ia and 18th days of the sew
enth month of the antique calendar,
which corresponds to later period of
the year.
Early on the morning of the 18th,
new mats of purest rice straw, woven ex-
pressly for the festival, are spread upon
all Buddhist affairs and within each but
suma or butsudan-the little shrine be-
fore which the morning and evening
prayers are offered up in every believing
home. Shrines and affairs are likewise
decorated with beautiful embellishments
of colored paper, and with flowers and
sprigs of certain hallowed plants-always
real lotos flowers when obtalnable, other
wise lotos flowers of paper, and fresh
branches of shikimi (anise) and of MISC
hagi Qespedeza). Then a tiny lacquered
table--a zen-such as Japanese meals
are usually served upon, is placed upon
the altar, and the food offerings are laid
on it. But in the smaller shrines of
japanese homes the offerings are more
often simply laid upon the rice mating,
wrapped in fresh lotos leaves.
These offerings consist of the foods
called somen, resembling our vermicelli,
gozen, which Is boiled rice, dango,
sort of tiny dumping, eggplant, and
fruits according to season-frequently
uri and salkwa, slices of melon and
watermelon, and plums and peaches.
Often sweet cakes and dainties are add
ed. Sometimes the offering is only
Osho-jin-gu honorable uncooked food) I;
more usually it is O-rio-gu honorable
boiled food); but it never includes, of
course, fish, meats, or wine. Clear water
is given to the shadowy guests, and is
sprinkled from time to time upon the
altar or within the shrine with branch
of misohagi: tea is poured out every hour
for the viewless visitors, and everything
is daintily served up in little plates
and cups and bowls, as for living guests,
with hashi (chopsticks) laid beside the
offering. So for three days the dead
are feasted.
At sunset, pine torches, fixed in the
ground before each home, are kindled
to guide the splrit-visitors. Sometimes,
also, on the first evening of the Bonn
matsuri, welcome fires (mukaebi are
lighted along the shore of the sea or lake
or river by which the village or city is
situated-neither more nor less than one
hundred and eight fires; this number
having some mystic Specification in the
philosophy OF Buddhism. And charm
ing lanterns are suspended each night at
the entrances of homes-the Lanterns of
the Festival of the Dead-lanterns of
special forms and colors, beautifully
painted with suggestions of landscape
and shapes of flowers, and always
decorated with peculiar fringe of paper
streamers.
Also, on the same night, those who
have dead friends go to the cemeteries
and make offerings there, and pray, and
burn incense, and pour out water for
the ghosts. Flowers are placed there in
the bamboo vases set beside each haka,
and lanterns are lighted and hung up be-
fore the tombs, but these lanterns have
no designs upon them.
At sunset on the evening of the 18th
only the offerings called Segaki are made
in the temples. Then are fed the ghosts
of the Circle of Penance. called GalIido,
the place of hungry spirits; and then also
are fed by the priests those ghos.s having
no other friends among the living to care
for them. Very, very small these offer
ings are-like the offerings to the
gods.
Upon the third and last night there is
weiydly beautiful ceremony, more
touching than that of the Segaki, stran-
ger than the Bon-odori-the ceremony
of farewell. All that the living may do
to please the dead has been done; the
time allotted by the powers of the un-
seen worlds unto the ghostly visitants is
well-nigh past, and their friends must
send them all back again.
Everything has been prepared for
them. In each home small boats made
of barley straw closely woven have been
freighted with supplies of dainty food,
with tiny lanterns, and written messages
of faith and love. Seldom more than a
foot in length are these boats; but the
dead require little room. And the frail
craft are launched on canal, lake, sea,
or riyer-each with miniature Lam
tern glowing at the prov, and incense
burning at the stern. And if the night
be fair, they voyage long. Down all the
creeks and rivers and canals these phan-
tom fleets go glimmering to the sea; and
all the sea sparkles to the horizon with
the lights of the dead, aud the sea wind
is fragrant with incense.
But alas it is now forbidden In the
great seaports to launch the shoryobune,
"the boat of the blessed ghosts"