Marysville Buddhist Church The Marysville Buddhist Church’s summer highlight is its Obon festival. According to the Marysville Buddhist Church’s Website, the church was officially established on April 1, 1908. However, since then, its congregation, and attendance for the church’s summer events, have also decreased. According to part-time church Secretary Joyce Nakatsu, “One hundred-something” people participate […]
SoCal festivals make summertime joyful
June 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Obon is a traditional Buddhist event to honor and express gratitude to one’s ancestors for the gift of life. As a celebration of the legacy passed down by one’s ancestors, most of the local Japanese Buddhist temples’ Obon festivals feature Bon Odori (dancing) and various types of entertainment, along with food, games, farmers markets, flower […]
Obon traditions and celebrations in Maui, SF
June 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
In March 2009, the Rev. Ronald Kobata became minister of the Buddhist Church of San Francisco. Kobata said that it’s “quite an honor” to be a reverend at the first congregation of Buddhist Churches of America, founded in 1898, and to lead a congregation in his hometown — something he said that he never expected […]
THEN AND NOW: Obon throughout the years in California’s Central Valley
June 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
California’s Central Valley has always had a large Japanese American population. Many Buddhist temples and Japantowns were founded in the Central Valley, as Japanese farmers and Asians of other origins flowed in. After World War II, many people of Japanese descent returned to the Central Valley and picked up the pieces from their previous life. […]
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