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Thali

Next: 13 to 16 Aug 2027

Obon

Japan welcomes the spirits of its ancestors home with vegetarian offerings, noodles and sweet rice cakes.

Mukaebi of the Bon Festival . Taken in Numazu , Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Photo: Batholith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What is eaten for Obon

At Obon the spirits of the ancestors are believed to come home for a few days. Most of Japan keeps it from 13 to 16 August, and some regions in July. Families return to their home towns, clean the graves and set food on the household altar. The offerings follow Buddhist rules and contain no meat or fish. Somen noodles, rice dumplings, fruit and summer vegetables are set out, with ohagi, rice cakes coated in sweet bean paste. A cucumber horse and an aubergine cow are made to carry the spirits.

The dishes

BotamochiCalled ohagi, rice cake in sweet bean paste, offered and eaten.SōmenThin noodles set on the altar and eaten cold.DangoRice dumplings to welcome and send off the spirits.

Also part of it, and being written: Buddhist cuisine (Offerings are shojin ryori, with no meat or fish.).

About this page

Written by the Thali desk with AI assistance. Background: "Obon" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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