California Japanese Buddhist Temples Celebrate Obon Festival

July 29, 2002

Source: The Daily News of Los Angeles

On July 29, 2002, The Daily News of Los Angeles featured an article on Obon at the San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Pacoima, California. "The Obon Festival, or the Feast of Lanterns, is one of the major Buddhist observances in Japanese culture and is intended to be a time to honor the deceased with food and dancing, and to remember the importance of charitable giving... Held at the Japanese American Community Center in Pacoima, the festival is also one of the temple's largest fund-raising events of the year... For 51 years, the festival has been one of the largest Buddhist gatherings in the city, with nearly 4,000 visitors during the two-day celebration, festival organizers said... The Obon Festival in Pacoima attracts many people who are not associated with the Buddhist faith."