Seattle Betsuin Matsuri Taiko Drum Group’s big drums beat out a steady “boom boom boom, whack! boom-boom, boom-boom, whack! with enough force to set your chest a-tremble and part your hair during the White River Buddhist Temple’s Bon Odori Festival last Saturday.
Men, women and children in kimonos moved in graceful circles to the pounding rhythm. A woman tied a pink sash around her daughter’s kimono then ushered her into the parking lot turned dancing grounds. A small boy ran in circles, arms flapping, the excitement too much for his 5-year-old self to contain.
The annual Buddhist bash drew an estimated 1,000 people to the temple on Auburn Way North to welcome back the departed in spirit with dancing, drumming and feasting. They sat on the grass, on folding chairs under paper lanterns and at tables to take it in.
“It’s about remembering our ancestors, the people who came before us,” said Charlene Grinolds, president of the White River Buddhist Temple. “Annually, when we have this festival, we have the service for everybody who has passed since the last O-Bon. It’s a party for the people that have left us. It’s a very special time in Japan, and all the temples celebrate.”
“It’s like the Fourth of July,” said Auburn attorney Yvonne Ward, serving hot dogs and hamburgers at the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) food booth.
“We’re here because we are very proud people,” said Gabrielle Nomura of Bellingham, accompanied by three generations of her family.
Honoring loved ones
A week earlier, members of the congregation, or sangha, held a service and visited the graves of loved ones to clean them up and to leave behind flowers.
The grass-skirted Ke Liko A’e O Lei Luhua Polynesian dancers, led by Brienne Kameyo Kapuaokalaui Quenga, started off Saturday’s festivities with hula dancing set to ukeleles. Then people gathered in the temple to chant sutras, children marched in a lantern procession and the traditional folk dancing and drumming began.
Everything from spiced beef bowls, teriyaki chicken, bento lunches and somen – cold noodles in broth – to flavored shaved ice, hot dogs, hamburgers, desserts and cold beverages enticed the hungry to more than a dozen booths.
Kaki Kesterson, scurrying about on trash-collecting duty, explained why the mid-summer festival matters so much.
“It’s called the dance of joy, the dance of happiness,” Kesterson said. “Life can be very stressful; we can get caught up in the tension it takes to get through each day. But in the moment there’s also joy, so come back to that. Just dance, just be in the moment and celebrate who you are. It’s a very happy thing.
“You know how Thanksgiving is the kickoff season for Christmas or Passover?” added Kesterson. “Well, that’s how I feel about Bon Odori. When July 1 hits, I’m ‘OK, we’re building toward Bon Odori.’ For me, it’s a celebration of all the eureka moments of the past year.”
“Everybody that grew up in this area returns,” said Renton resident Kerry Taniguchi. “This is a once-a-year gathering of all the friends, literally. You see people you haven’t seen for years. This is a lot of fun. There are a lot of O-Bons in the Seattle Tacoma area, but the one at White River is the one they come to. It’s community, it’s small, and, as you can see, everybody out there knows almost everyone else.”
