Photos: Obon Festival returns to San Jose’s Japantown

Obon — a Japanese Buddhist festival that honors the dead — is one of the city’s longest-running cultural events, dating back certainly to the post-World War II period and probably back to the 1930s. And while San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin has kept the community engaged with Obon@Home festivals the past two years, it feels great to have the real thing back again — even if it is somewhat scaled back as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-day “Back to Obon” festival included taiko groups from Stanford and UC-Berkeley. Entertainment continued throughout the day, including San Jose Taiko performances both days, and culminated each evening with the Obon Odori dance.

The past two years the festival was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Text by Sal Pizarro, see full story here.