Sangha Taiko played five sets at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)
ONTARIO – More than a hundred people from all around Treasure Valley gathered at the Japanese Gardens at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on Saturday, July 15, to celebrate the 74th Japan Nite Obon Festival organized by the Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple.
The Obon festival is a Japanese Buddhist tradition where people commemorate their ancestors and remember them with joy. The celebrations consisted of traditional Japanese dances open to audience participation and a performance by Japanese drummer group Sangha Taiko. Japanese food, such as bento boxes, somen noodles and happy bowls, as well as hamburgers and hot dogs were catered by Matsy’s Restaurant and Catering in Ontario and were available for purchase at the event.
Ontario resident Howard Matsumura said that this event was meant to commemorate the heritage of the Japanese community in Western Treasure Valley, who have been immigrating here since the 1920s.
“There was a fairly significant number of Japanese that came here, and they brought with them these traditions of respecting our ancestors, their parents or grandparents, aunts, uncles,” he said. “And for us to be able to carry that on, even with a dwindling population of Japanese Americans, it’s something that is very important for us.”
Emily Teraoka, who is a park ranger for the National Park Service, spoke about the Minidoka Internment Site in Jerome County, Idaho, which is one of the ten incarceration sites in the United States where Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Minidoka was recently opened up to visitors, so that survivors and their descendants could return and pay tribute to those who underwent suffering.
“For many Japanese Americans, we look to our elders and see the examples that they have set, the work that they have done to help our own community and to help others,” she said. “So, thank you to the survivors here with us today. I am who I am because of you.”
Attendees participated in five kinds of Bon Odori dances, including the Shamisen Slide line dance, which mixes Western and Japanese influences, and Tanko Bushi, which is a traditional Japanese coal miner’s dance.
The event ended with a raffle where cash prizes were distributed to the lucky winners. Maya Uriu won the first prize of $300, James Otani won both second and third prizes of $200 and $100 and the last two prizes of $50 each went to Charles Kitamura and Sherri Kitamura respectively.
Japanese drumming band Sangha Taiko play energetically at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Drummers Jennifer Price and Lindsay Moore play energetically at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Sangha Taiko played five sets at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Drummer Jeremy Moore with Sangha Taiko plays the big drum at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Drummers Lindsay Moore and Suzee Grilley play energetically at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Sangha Taiko drummer Eric Spencer plays at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Michelle Sadamori, Denise Yamamoto and Jennifer Price play at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Naoko Yamamoto of drumming band Sangha Taiko plays at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Sangha Taiko plays drums at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Sangha Taiko plays at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Audience members watch Sangha Taiko play at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Attendees watch Sangha Taiko play traditional Japanese drums at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Bento boxes were available for purchase at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)One of the Matsy’s caterers pours broth into the cold somen noodles at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Happy bowls for purchase at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Park ranger Emily Teraoka speaks about the Minidoka Internment Site at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Community member Howard Matsumura introduces the Bon Odori dances at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Several attendees dressed in traditional Japanese yukatas for the bon odori dances at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Grace Cepada participates in the Bon Odori dances at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)A young girl holds her umbrella at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)A young girl cools off with a fan at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (ANGIE SILLONIS/Special to the Enterprise)Attendees participate in the Shamisen Slide line dance that combines Japanese and western influences at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Attendees participate in the Shamisen Slide line dance that combines Japanese and western influences at the Japan Nite Obon Festival at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)
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