Obon (お盆) is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one’s ancestors, whose spirits are believed to temporarily return to this world in order to visit their relatives during Obon.
There are 3 surviving Japantowns in the US: in San Francisco, Los Angeles and in San Jose.
I have visited the San Jose Obon festival and it was quite memorable visit for me. The views, people, food but most of all I was impressed, actually quite mesmerized, by Taiko performances. In particular by the group from University Of California, Berkeley.
Their high energy performance is an art that combines music, dance, martial arts, athletics, and culture.
Taiko has enjoyed not only a resurgence of interest in Japan, where there are over 4,000 Taiko ensembles, but also transplantation and evolution in North America. It is a quite recent phenomenon in the US increasing in popularity on College Campuses mainly in the last several decades.
Taiko literally means “drum” and has been an integral part of Japanese ritual for centuries. Used in a military context around the 6th century, drums were then incorporated into Shinto and Buddhist religious ceremonies, festivals and theatre performances, and the instrument itself became regarded as sacred.
Taiko can produce sounds topping 130 decibels, a sound level that is on a par with the noise produced by jet airplanes. Sounds can be heard over a distance of several miles. In fact, in ancient Japan, taiko drumming was even used to signal soldiers on the battlefield.
21 Comments
this taiko performance is so entertaining and enchanting. thank you for narrating the history of taiko. fully enjoyed your whole video. may your channel grow bigger and bigger. have a great time 14:38
Wow, this video was truly mesmerizing! The Taiko performance was incredible, and I loved how they incorporated traditional Japanese elements into their music. The synchronized movements, the powerful drumming, and the energy they brought were simply captivating. Thank you for sharing this amazing experience with us. Take care and goodbye!
As a Japanese person, I am happy that foreigners can immerse themselves in Japanese culture and food.🥰 Please visit Japan as well.🇯🇵
good job my friend! very interesting upload. congratulation from Poland👍38
Such a wonderful upload, these festival shots are amazing my friend!🤗
Fantastic Japanese Obon festival. Nice sharing my friend.
Nice Michael. They were obviously well practiced on their drum routines. They put on a good show👍🏻👍🏻38
Fascinating to check it out👏
Great culture today you showed us 👍👍
Stay blessed my friend 😇🫵🙏
Looks like a fun event! Love Japanese festivals.
Such a wonderful festival on the road and super performance dear friend thank you for afternoon with us !!!
بالتوفيق 👍🙏🙏🙏
Wow, super! I love it! 👏💙
Students huh, as professional as any performers we've ever seen. Amazing. That was fantastic my friend, made my day. Thoroughly enjoyed that performance and didn't want it to end. Well done. Thanks so much for sharing this special event with us.
Very nice festival, I really enjoyed watching
New friend🙏
Amazing festival! Like 44!
I agree the ladies are just as talented as the men. I actually live in San Jose and I've maybe been to Japantown only 3 times! I think I need to visit! Are you still in California?
I was very moved when I saw a Japanese drum performance. Thank you very much for sharing this precious video. Have a nice day.👍46🥁👏👏
Wonderful video !!
Wow 🤩
I didn’t know Japanese OBON festival was held in San Jose😍
I am really happy to know that people in the US enjoyed the Japanese food and culture 😍
Thank you for sharing this wonderful video 🥰🇯🇵
Das Fest ist sehr schön und wunderbar. Vielen lieben Dank Freund für deinen schönen Beitrag.