Obon in the News
Obon Spiritual Explorers
For 3 days during the summer, the Japanese celebrate the Obon festival. It is a time when the ancestors’ spirits return from the other side, to spend time with the living. All across Japan, Obon is celebrated in local, traditional ways. To discover the spirit of Obon, 2 explorers visit a small village in Aichi […]
Japanese Bon dance picking up popular tunes as it goes international
The Bon Odori dance, once a community event and a midsummer ritual for consoling ancestors’ spirits, has evolved drastically in recent years, picking up popular disco and anime tunes and attracting people regardless of their age or nationality.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 13
Honbushin Odori Festival
95-030 Waihonu St., Mililani, HI 96789
808-623-7693
5 to 9 p.m.
Vegetable bazaar from 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 14
Autumn Dance Matsuri
Hawaii Okinawa Center Legacy Ballroom
94-587 Uke’e St., Waipahu, HI 96797
808-676-5400
4:30 to 10 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5
Windward Mall Bon Dance Festival
& Commemorative Gift With Purchase Offer
46-056 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe, HI 96744
808-235-1143
2 to 7 p.m.
Please save the date and join us for the first indoor Bon Dance right here in Center Court!
Enjoy Bon Dance from 2 to 4 p.m. and entertainment, food, and special promotions from 4 to 7 p.m. Schedule of events to be announced, stay tuned! Spend a combined minimum of $100 in same day receipts mall wide on October 5th during mall hours to receive a limited edition commemorative gift with purchase!* Redeem receipts in Center Court.
SUNDAY, OCT. 6
Doris Duke Theater, The Honolulu Museum of Ar.
900 S. Bertania St., Honolulu
808-532-6097
Bon Dancing starts at 4:15 p.m., film screening at 2 p.m.
Join us for the U.S. premiere screening of BON UTA, A Song From Home. The film highlights connections between Hawaii and Fukushima, Japan and looks at the history of immigration through songs and music. From acclaimed filmmaker Nakae Yuji, known famously for Nabbie’s Love, the film follows people from Futaba Town in Fukushima Prefecture and the traditional ‘bon-uta’ dance that they have protected. Futaba Town was devastated by the Great East Japan Disaster, which threatened the continued existence of ‘bon-uta’. The townspeople have see a glimmer of hope when they hear the story of Fukushima Ondo, another type of “bon uta,” which continues to be performed and preserved by Japanese Americans whose ancestors emigrated from Fukushima to Hawaii over a hundred years ago. The film follows the Futaba townspeople as they head to Maui to see for themselves how a centuries-old tradition has been passed down to the current generation.
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