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Nikkei Manor’s Bon Odori Summer Festival Brings Together Multiple Generations To Celebrate Community, Family, And Ancestral Spirits

With a big smile and laugh, a Nikkei Manor resident picks up the ‘bachi’ or drum stick from the Okinawa Kenjinkai performer and drums along with the final song of Okinawa Kenjinkai’s performances. Photo by Theo Bickel

(Editor’s note: These photos were originally commissioned by Nikkei Manor and are republished here with permission)

On Sunday, July 27, Nikkei Manor celebrated its annual Bon Odori Summer Festival at its senior care facility in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.

Bon Odoris are joyous street festivals, celebrating community, family, and honoring loved ones who have passed on. They have roots in Japanese Buddhist and Shinto traditions honoring ancestors.

At Nikkei Manor, people of all ages celebrated, dancing and taking in performances from the multi-generational Pacific Northwest performance group Okinawa Kenjin Kai-Chijinshuu of Washington State, which performs traditional Okinawa music and dance routines, including chanting and drumming. The event also featured tables where people of all skill levels could play Riichi Mahjong, also known as ‘Japanese Mahjong’.

Since 1975, Keiro Northwest, the operator of Nikkei Manor Assisted Living facility, has served as a community-based nonprofit organization in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, dedicated to serving elders.

Residents of Nikkei Manor, an Assisted Living facility in the C-ID providing “Compassionate, Culturally Relevant Elder Care” look on at the Okinawa Kenjinkai performers. Photo by Theo Bickel

An Okinawan Kenjinkai performers jumps high into the air during an Eisa folk dance. Vibrant and loud, Eisa performances are as much dance as they are drum performances. As Okinawan culture has grown and changed, the Eisa folk dances have too. Photo by Theo Bickel

Okinawa Kenjinkai performers in a blue lion costume perform a ‘shishi-mai’ or lion dance during the Nikkei Manor Obon Festival. The lion paraded around the crowd, pretending to bite attendees with their mouth. Shishimai dances are traditionally performed to ward off evil. Photo by Theo Bickel

Attendees across multiple generations participate in the dancing. Photo by Theo Bickel

Photo by Theo Bickel

A participant sits down at the Mahjong table setup underneath canopies on the South East corner of the Nikkei Manor Obon Festival. The come-as-you-are tables had players with varying experience, from beginners learning their first game to experts playing Riichi Mahjong, also known as ‘Japanese Mahjong.’ Photo by Theo Bickel

A performer with the Okinawa Kenjinkai lifts up two red sensu, or fans, in a performance in front of Nikkei Manor. She is wearing a Ryusou, an Okinawan kimono, with distinctly Okinawan designs. The Ryusou is unique to Okinawa and also has a distinct two-piece design that is different from the traditional Japanese kimono. Photo by Theo Bickel

For one of the Okinawa Kenjinkai performances, the crowd was invited in to join the dance circle in a celebratory song. The formers in the front of the photo are Okinawan Kenjinkai performers in their traditional garb. The dancers in the back are the Nikkei Manor bon odori dancers that joined in quickly once the dance began. Photo by Theo Bickel

Also known as the ‘drum dance’ the Okinawa Kenjinkai perform an Eisa folk dance in front of the Nikkei Manor. The eisa is a style of dancing unique to Okinawa that is rooted in Obon festivals and traditions and includes energetic dancing and drumming. The drums, called shimedaiko are often held by the performers. Photo by Theo Bickel

Photographer and activist Eugene Tagawa photographs the festival, a volunteer role he has performed at Nikkei Manor for years. Photo by Theo Bickel

Photo by Theo Bickel

The post Nikkei Manor’s Bon Odori Summer Festival brings together multiple generations to celebrate community, family, and ancestral spirits appeared first on International Examiner.

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Nikkei Manor’s Bon Odori Summer Festival Brings Together Multiple Generations To Celebrate Community, Family, And Ancestral Spirits

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