The Dickinson press., 1905-10-07
FEAST OF THE BONKU.
HOW JAPAN's GREAT SUMMER HOLE
DAY is CELEBRATED.

It II at Once an Occasion FOR Feasr-y
ing the Spirits of the Departed and
IN Opportunity For a Marvellous
Display OF Lanterns.
There are no Sundays in Japan, but
the people enjoy many legal and re-
iigious holidays. The most notable
of all is that elaborate summer fes-
tival which lasts for four days in the
middle Of July and has so many sides
to it that it is known by several names.
Formerly it was styled Urabon; today
it is usually called the Feast of Bon,
Or Bqmmatsuri, or the Bonku. It is
at once a time for feasting the spirits
Of the departed and an occasion for a
marvellous display Of lanterns. Many
Europeans call it the Feast Of Lam.
terms. Speaking strictly, it may be
denominated the Japanese Festival Of
All Souls.
In Dai Nippon religion and pleasure
go hand In hand, and this extraordi-
nary season Of homage to friends who
have passed away is an occasion Of
most singular and exceedingly pic
turesque national festivities on a uni
F~versal, scale. The popular doctrine is
that during these four days Of the
year the spirits Of ancestors take a hol-
iday from hades and visit the IA
miliar scenes Of past terrestrial life,
especially the temples and shrines
where they used to worship, and that
they expect to be cordially and de-
voutly welcomed and generously fed.
These shadowy visitors also look for
amusement, and it IS %abundantly sup
piled.
Tokyo is a gay sight indeed on the
morning Of July 10. The first cere-
mony is the Kawa Biruki, or OPEN
ing Of the river. PROFESSIONS of pleas
ure boats start down the river Su-
mida. They are exquisitely decorated
with flags, ribbons, colored paper and
flowers in p~rofusion, the lily being
most in evidence, as this blossom is in
Japan the emblem of purity. The
people wish their ancestral invisible
guests to believe that they are living
immaculate lives, whatever may hap
pen: to be the truth of the matter. At
night all the river craft will again sail
in procession, and the 'gayety will be
at the climax. :,
During the daytime the religious rit-
ua1 is %sedulously' observed. For many
days numerous hands have been busily
weaving new mats Of the finest rice
straw, and now these are brought to
the Buddhist shrines and spread upon
the affairs and inside the temples. In
every home also a similar preparation
for the festival worship is observed,
the spotless mat being devoutly laid
in the domestic "butsudan," as the
little home shrine lis termed where
morning and evening prayers are Of
fered before the ancestral tablets or
inscriptions,
OF course the feeding Of the ghostly
guests Is the most essential item in
the programme of preparation. The
dietetic commodities which these WIS.,
itorsj from, the unseen world are sup
posed, to prefer are somewhat numer-.
Gus; therefore the viands are offered
infmany tiny portions. Fresh lotus.
Tleayes;tare procured, IL, possible, and
on these the food is placed. The NOR
sells are all delicious, and the ban
quet is indeed a tempting one, suppos-
ling that the hadean .<epicures have
really any appetite for these mundane
~.dalicacies. They are supposed to be
Especially. fond Of bits Of the choice
Japanese fruits called ''saikwa' and
"uri." They are offered plums and
peaches. Little slices Of muskmelon
and watermelon are in evidence. The
eggplant fruit is never missing.
Somewhat more substantial are the
contributions in the shape of "gozen'
Carefully boiled rice), ''somen'' "a kind
Of macaronD and "dango' "a minute
-four dumpling). Various delicate
specimens are added, but no kind of
animal food is ever offered, nor is a
drop of wine included. Such COM
modities would shock the refined spirit
ual tastes of the guests. Clean water
Is constantly sprinkled on the shrine
with a branch of the sacred mishohagi
bush, and all day once an hour tea is
freshly prepared for the ghosts. Chop
sticks are laid by the offerings, the un
seen visitors being treated just as liv-
ing beings.
The proceedings indoors Of course oc-
cupy much attention, and some member
of the family must constantly be in the
home, but the doings out Of doors are
full. of interest and charm. All kinds
of fascinating features characterize, the
fpublic celebrations on land, on. the
river and by the sea. In all rural ia
pan the lively Bon Odori, or dance
of souls, .is kept up during the three
days. 1t consists Of a performance by
the villagers in a great circle. The
dancers 80! round, posturing in a. great
variety of attitudes, aafew in the cen
ter being the musicians In the. cities
the Bon Odori lis now.a professional
exhibition -of"skilf<by pretty and popu-7
lar geisha girls, AZ always in. Japan,
the dancers tell a story by their move
ments. ~.