Sights and sounds

So, I made it out to Nagasaki City last night thanks to my neighbor. We decided to have a girls’ night out and drive out to see what Obon was all about. As I mentioned before, I have learned that it is a 3-day period where families welcome their ancestors back into their homes and honor the dead. We both had a minimal understanding and wanted to see the people and the activities. We didn’t have anyone to explain what was going on so I can’t say that we got a better understanding, but we did get to experience the sights and sounds.



There are large, beautifully crafted boats with lanterns and the family name written on the front. Some had pictures of their ancestors on the boat as well. The boats are then paraded through the streets and taken to the water. It seemed like a tough feat especially on such a warm, humid night. There were some older men pushing the boats which was very impressive. Some women and girls dress up in yukatas which are a kind of summer version of kimono. The men pushing the boats also where them but they’re a different style with a shorter top and shorts for bottoms.



The sounds... well, it was crazy loud. Everyone lights off painfully loud firecrackers on the streets alongside their boats. At first I thought it was just the younger guys lighting them off but I saw full grown men lighting them with glee as well. I don’t think I can put into words how ear piercingly loud it was but by the end of the night, we had tissues in our ears. They had no qualms about when and where they’d light them too. We even got hit by a piece of one at one point! They would just light them and stand in them or light some that would break into the sky without checking if people (ahem!) might get hit by the exploding pieces. There were cops around, but mostly just to monitor the traffic so it seemed that everyone was free to go wild.



Of course with all the fireworks comes the trash. I heard it mentioned on the news how it’s always an ordeal to clean up the streets after Obon because of the fireworks. Now I see what they mean.



All in all, it was a nice night and good to see more locals and get out to the city. In the city there are more foreigners and people (especially the teenaged girls) dress less conservatively so it’s a whole different experience. They also had the Gap and a Kinko's!