Nagasaki's Obon: A Time for Remembrance

Journeys in Japan – Season 15

Obon is a summertime ritual when Japanese people welcome ancestors' spirits home from the Buddhist Pure Land. The people of Nagasaki have a distinctive way to commemorate this. They light fireworks and firecrackers at family graves and parade boats ferrying the spirits of the deceased through the streets and then back to the Buddhist Paradise. This episode takes a deep dive into Nagasaki's unique style of Obon.