Origin

• In the Urabon Sutra, a story is told of a Buddhist disciple who used his supernatural powers to look on the spirit of his dead mother, who was suffering at the hands of hungry ghosts. When he asked the Buddha for advice he was told to provide offerings to priests. Through these offerings and good deeds, he was able to save his mother.
  
  

Summer Cleaning

• After returning to their ancestral homes, people pay a visit to their family's grave site to clean memorial stones and leave offerings. Family homes are also cleaned at this time.
  
  

Lanterns

• Paper lanterns are intended to guide the spirits of ancestors home. In times past, fires were lit in doorways to assist the spirits.
  
  

Offerings

• Special food is prepared for the festival. Candies and cakes are among the offerings given, out of respect for relatives who have passed away.
  
  

Festival

• Communities erect special platforms where music, drumming and dancing are performed to honor the dead.
  
  

Spirits Return Home

• The festival ends with paper lanterns being floated down a river. These are to guide spirits back to where they came from. It is said that Urabon is the only time of the year when the iron pot of hell is opened so that the dead can once again visit their families.