Obon Day

While at home after a Monday of work, doing what couples normally do (Ryan making dinner, Erin doing laundry), I noticed guys walking down the street in a vibrant get-up.  

We'd walked to the practice place (dojo?) of our neighborhood's Eisa dancers a couple of times over the summer, and we've been hearing their drums for more than a few months now.  All was in preparation for today, Oban day!  I heard it mentioned at a meeting at work this morning, that today was the first day of Oban.  After a bit of "googling," I learned that Oban is celebrated for three days after another Japanese holiday or occasion, and it is when the Okinawans welcome their dead/departed family members back to the island for a few days.  Each "village" in Okinawa has their own troupe of Eisa dancers, and the village shows their support for the Eisa dancers by giving money when the troupe dances through the streets of the village on Oban day.

Ryan learned a bit more about Oban when he was here alone last summer, before I arrived. Apparently, the Okinawans will not fish or even go into the ocean during Oban.  The reasons is for fear that you'll not make it out of the water, that the spirits of the dead will keep you in the water, which is where they "live."  Oban seems to be the Okinawa equivalent of "Día de los muertos" in Mexico.

The Eisa dancers began at dusk within a couple of blocks of our house.  The clouds had been threatening rain all day, but we had nothing but a few light showers lasting only a minute or two. Until the Eisa dancers began their steps near OUR house.  The bottom fell out, and as the dancers scrambled into the vehicle where the band was OR to nearby houses with overhangs, I beckoned to the dancers carrying the sign to come to our house.  We have a nice long corridor that is so close to our neighbor's house that it creates quite a protected area from rain.  Several dancers hung out there for 10-15 minutes until the rain subsided.  We offered them towels, but none of the dancers took any for themselves.  Two of the dancers used the towels to carefully clean their sign.  Ryan and I stayed outside, and the dancer dressed as a spirit offered a photo opportunity. I couldn't exclaim, "Hai!" quickly enough!

We gave our offering in support of our neighborhood's dancers, and a woman traveling with the dancers had me write my name and address on a clipboard.  My entry was the only one in English; the rest were kanji, save for the house numbers!  It was our "when in Rome" moment of the month.

After the rain, the dancers assembled into the street to resume their steps.  The music is traditional, and the assortment of songs seemed the same as we'd been hearing throughout the summer months.  Ryan and I didn't think much of the music when we first began hearing the drums back in April/May, but we'd come to agree that the tunes had grown on us.  How cool is it to have something like this go on so close?!  I really wish my camera did better at night, but a few shots came out.