A two-day festival this weekend turned the one of the nation’s oldest Japantowns into a celebration of ancestral blessings, culture and history.
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The annual San Jose Obon Festival & Bazaar, presented by the Buddhist Church Betsuin, featured taiko drumming, traditional dancing, cultural booths, food stalls and games.
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The highlight of both evenings was the Bon Odori dance of joy and remembrance, with festivalgoers joining the dancers dressed in traditional costume. In 2024, the dancing broke festival records with 1,725 Obon attendees hitting the streets to folk music — “Shiawase Samba” — by the Chidori Band and San Jose Taiko.
According to church records, San Jose’s earliest Obon gathering was held in 1936, though odori dancing was noted here as early as 1904 — two years after the church was founded.
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