{"id":4362,"date":"2026-07-12T21:08:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4362"},"modified":"2026-07-12T21:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:08:32","slug":"photos-thousands-attend-the-san-jose-obon-festival-in-japantown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4362","title":{"rendered":"Photos: Thousands attend the San Jose Obon Festival in Japantown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A two-day festival this weekend turned the one of the nation\u2019s oldest Japantowns into a celebration of ancestral blessings, culture and history.<\/p>\n

Read more Khosla family, who owns stake in 49ers, agrees to purchase Super Bowl champ Seahawks, per report<\/a><\/p>\n

The annual San Jose Obon Festival & Bazaar, presented by the Buddhist Church Betsuin, featured taiko drumming, traditional dancing, cultural booths, food stalls and games.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose library patrons take summer learning seriously<\/a><\/p>\n

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 \u2014 \u201cShiawase Samba\u201d \u2014 by the Chidori Band and San Jose Taiko.
\nAccording to church records, San Jose\u2019s earliest Obon gathering was held in 1936, though odori dancing was noted here as early as 1904 \u2014 two years after the church was founded.<\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: Safe communities require attentive neighbors<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A two-day festival this weekend turned the one of the nation\u2019s oldest Japantowns into a celebration of ancestral blessings, culture and history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPhotos: Thousands attend the San Jose Obon Festival in Japantown - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Photos: Thousands attend the San Jose Obon Festival in Japantown - 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