Japanese Americans who don’t live on the West Coast joke that you can go to a different Bon Odori every weekend in California, and dance away your summer. Not so in the geographically isolated Rocky Mountain region, where a few cities such as Denver, Salt Lake City and some other smaller towns host Obon festivals […]
Several ministerial changes in Northern Calif. Buddhist Churches
June 21, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Along with the start of the new year, several Buddhist temples in Northern California welcomed new ministers to lead their congregations. The ministers’ main goal is to maintain the welcoming atmosphere the temple members have showed them in return. Second Home for a Big Family For 29-year-old Rev. Matthew Hamasaki, growing up at the Berkeley […]
San Jose Obon delivers comforting familiarity to community
July 21, 2016 by 1 Comment
This year’s Obon festival in San Jose’s Japantown, which took place July 9 and July 10, was the same as it is every year: parking was nearly impossible to find, a line extended all the way from Jackson Street around the corner to North Fifth Street for the shave ice sold at Shuei-do Manju Shop, […]
FANTASTIC VOYAGE: Obon in Japan, compared to America
June 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I’d been trying to think of how to compare Obon festivals in Japan and America, but for reasons I couldn’t quite put my finger on, it was very difficult. On the surface there are many similarities; however, the role of the temple in America is very different than that of Japan, so to properly understand […]
Contemporary Bon Odori standardized in SoCal
June 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES – Summertime is the season for tens of thousands of Nikkei in Southern California to celebrate Obon, a traditional Buddhist event to honor and express gratitude to one’s ancestors for the gift of life. “Obon is the most important festival in the year cycle, it’s remembering the dead,†said the Rev. Masao Kodani […]
Southern California Obons and summer festivals
June 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Valley Japanese Community Center’s Obon festival is on Saturday, June 22 (5-10 p.m.), and Sunday, June 23 (5-9 p.m.), at 8850 Lankershim Blvd., Sun Valley. Bon Odori begins at 7 p.m. Saturday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. There will be food and entertainment (including the Matsutoyo Kai dance and musical group on Saturday, Los Angeles Matsuri […]
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Mountain View Buddhist Temple impermanence
“How, are we going to do Obon … without rice?†Randy Sato, co-chair of this year’s Obon Festival and Bazaar at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple, pushed his tensed fingers thru his hair. The members of the Mountain View Buddhist Temple are facing a powerful lesson in the Buddhist concept of impermanence this year. Over […]