16 August 2008 “Happy O-Bon!”
We’re up at Maki’s parents’ house in the country for o-bon, which is almost the Japanese equivalent of Thanksgiving. People make a point of going back to the ancestral seat to spend time with family, only for o-bon it’s because that’s when the dead relatives come back to visit too, and you gotta be there to say ‘hi’ or else when you’re dead no one’s gonna bother to wash your grave and light the incense every year, and guess how sorry you’ll be then.
Other than that, it’s exactly like Thanksgiving.
I made a point of packing my camera bag chock full of a bunch of stuff I wanted to use, but of course forgot to actually bring it to the car. Hence I’m stuck with my iPhone. (I used the word “cell phone” in a conversation with Genbo the other day, and he wanted me to explain what that was. When I got done, he said, “You mean iiiiii-Phone?”
The neighborhood priest comes to say a few prayers for various and sundry dead family members. Zoe isn’t quite so impressed with the gravity of the occasion, but no one seems to think she’s disturbing things.
