Bon Festival moon

Obon is a Buddhist festival celebrated in the summertime, lasting three days. The festival honors the spirits of the dead, and it is traditionally believed that the spirits are allowed to revisit the living. Lanterns are lit outdoors to guide the spirits. The Bon Odori dance, pictured in this print and drawn in a Shijō style, is a happy event, performed with singing to celebrate the departed ancestors. For another print drawn in this style, see #18 above.