Wakasa Obama Jizo Bon

About this event

Wakasa Obama Jizo Bon is a festival centered around children, praying for their sound health and protection from illness. It takes place every year on August 23 in the Nishizu district and throughout the city. Children ring bells and drums while chanting 'Maitte nō,' inviting passersby to make monetary offerings. Coinciding with Jizo Bon, children colorfully paint the Jizo statues that are enshrined, a practice called 'Kesho Jizo' (Make-up Jizo), and Wakasa Obama is well known as an area where Kesho Jizo flourishes. In the Nishizu district of Obama City in particular, it is a large-scale event where children wash Jizo statues taken from local neighborhood shrines with seawater, color them with paints, build modular Jizo halls, and enshrine them. The festival is held by each neighborhood, with some enshrining statues in Jizo halls, others in the front guest room of the designated host family's house, or in community centers. In front of the halls, colorful paper banners and lanterns are hung, and offering boxes are placed. In the rear altar, the Jizo statues that usually stand along roadsides are moved inside, decorated with festive curtains, and piled high with offerings of rice, feasts, and sweets that delight children. On the morning of August 23, Jizo Bon begins with the voices of children and the sound of bells and drums, as they tour the neighborhood led by a second-year junior high school student who acts as the leader called 'Taisho.' When night falls, adults also gather for Jizo Wasan chanting, and following the Buddhist service, the offered sweets, fruits, and monetary offerings are distributed to the children. For the children, Jizo Bon can be considered the final joy of the dwindling summer vacation. Many of the Kesho Jizo in the Nishizu district are painted with pigment paints, though some finished in lacquer can also be seen. Because they cannot be seen once placed inside the altar, viewing them before enshrinement is recommended. While Kesho Jizo around Kyoto often use three colors (blue, red, and yellow), in Obama there are no color restrictions—using brown, gold, and silver—and one can see freeform coloring, such as horizontal sunrise-like stripes on the halo of the Jizo statue. The Jizo statues in every neighborhood are thoroughly cared for, reflecting the deep devotion of the local community.

Venue

Nishizu Beach (Nishizu-no-Hama)

8-18 Minato, Obama, Fukui 917-0004