The Japanese Bon Odori is this Saturday!
I don’t know why but I always love to go to the Bon Odori Festival. Perhaps it is the music or possibly the few stalls selling Japanese knick knacks and definitely because of the food!
Yep, in Penang, it is not a festival if there is no ample food available, free or otherwise. Although, I’d prefer to pay for my food because well, if the food is free, it usually suck and not only that, I do not like fighting to grab a tiny piece amongst the throng of greedy people. It is just too tiring.
Now back to the annual Japanese Dance Festival. I searched around and found some interesting facts about Bon Odori.
- Bon Odori simply means Bon Dance.
- It is originally a Japanese Buddhist ritual to honour the spirits of their ancestors but it is promoted in Penang more as a Japanese cultural event
- It is celebrated in summer in Japan and on different dates of either July 15, August 15 or the 15th day of the 7th lunar month in different parts of Japan.
- The festival lasts for 3 days in Japan
- It is also celebrated in Brazil, China, US and Canada other than Japan and Malaysia.
- Legends have it that this dance ritual started from Mokuren who is Buddha’s disciple.
Here’s how the Mokuren story goes:
Mokuran use his supernatural powers to find out how his deceased mother was doing in the other realm. However, he found that she was suffering and is in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. So, he went to Buddha to ask for his mother to be released. Buddha told him to make offerings to Buddhist monks after they complete their summer retreat on the 15th day of the 7th month. So he made the offerings and his mother was released from that realm and he suddenly realised the sacrifices his mother had made for him. Overjoyed with his mother’s release and grateful for her many sacrifices for him, he began to dance in joy.
That’s how the dance evolved into the Bon Dance which is the time to remember and appreciate ancestors and their sacrifices by dancing.
The annual festival here in Penang usually have a lot of Japanese food stalls and some arts and crafts stalls but in recent years, many of the food stalls also sell other foods and not only Japanese foods. The prices aren’t cheap either because many of the stalls are by hotels and restaurants.
Be prepared to spend at least RM50 (for two) if you intend to eat dinner there. The portions aren’t all that big either.
Finally, remember to bring an umbrella. It is after all the wet rainy season now and every year, it ALWAYS rain during the festival, it is a matter of whether it’s going to be a slight drizzle or a heavy downpour.
Oh, here are the details of the event:
Venue: Esplanade
Time: 6pm – midnight
VIP: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to officiate it at 8pm / 9pm (not sure lar, should be around that time)
Be prepared for fireworks too.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
