2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon

Licensing

After work on Saturday, July 28, 2007, I walked over to the 2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon to meet my friends for some food, some dancing, and some fun! The first thing I did when I arrived was buy manju, something I look forward to at every obon. I then watched some performances on stage and played a rubber duckie race game. I was victorious!

The Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple is located at 505 E. 3rd Street in Los Angeles, CA, 90013. My friends and I ate and enjoyed the entertainment. But, we were really waiting for the dancing to begin. We were so excited when it did! There were so many people there, we got pushed out of our dancing lane multiple times!

This collection features pictures of this obon, and pictures of activities that I participated in. Enjoy!

To view collections of other obons, see below:
2007 Orange County Buddhist Church Obon
Zenshuji Soto Mission Obon and Nishi Hongwanji LA Obon - July 8, 2007
San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon

Slides in this album 

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Manju

Manju, a Japanese confection, comes in many varieties. The Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon had delicious manju for sale. It certainly was a treat, for its not often that I get to enjoy manju!

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Manju
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Shaved Ice Booth

Like every other obon I've been to, the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon had shaved ice for sale. The shaved ice, or snow cone, booth is one of those things that you can always count on.The shaved ice booth at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon offered a variety of …

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Shaved Ice Booth
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Shaved Ice

This particular shaved ice included sweet beans and condensed milk, and it had already partially melted. :(
This type of snow cone is called "kintoki."

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Shaved Ice
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Somen Booth

These three gentlemen saw the somen booth and immediately purchased one each. It was a hot day, and the somen was refreshing. Somen consists of thin Japanese noodles made of wheat flour, usually served cold.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Somen Booth
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Somen

The chilled somen was a welcome treat for the sweaty and hungry obon attendees. Doesn't it look delicious?

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Somen
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Tamale Booth

The tamale booth was very visible, due to its sign with bright green and orange letters. The West Covina Buddhist Temple workers offered chili with their tamales, which was delicious.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Tamale Booth
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Making Tamales

I took advantage of the chili option mentioned in the previous slide. This is a picture of one of the workers carefully applying the chili on top of the tamales.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Making Tamales
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Tamale with Chili

I'm usually very picky with my tamales. But, this one tasted so good. The chili added the perfect touch. West Covina Buddhist Temple, I salute you.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Tamale with Chili
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Beef Box Booth

The beef box booth was situated in between the dango booth and the shaved ice booth. The food was so tasty. Everybody that I was with that day purchased one and finished it within a matter of minutes.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Beef Box Booth
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Cooking Beef

This grill was behind the Beef Box booth, and it looked so yummy. I was granted special permission to go behind the booth to snap this photo. I then purchased a beef bowl, and it was delicious!

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Cooking Beef Boxes
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Beef Box

The beef bowls at the Higashi obon on Saturday were absolutely amazing. I thought that I had enough time to eat mine, but I really had to rush because the dancing was about to start. :( It was still good though!

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Beef Box
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dango Booth

The dango booth offered a variety of dango at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon. One type of dango that really interested me was the oreo dango. It was basically a deep fried oreo!

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dango Booth
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Oreo Dango

"Dango" resembles a doughnut hole, as you can see in this picture. It is small and round, and is a real treat. This is the Oreo Dango! I had to try it. It passed the taste test. :)

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Oreo Dango
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Bake Sale

Many obon festivals in Southern California have bake sales, where they sell homemade cookies, brownies, cakes and other sweets. I love baked goods, so I bought a brownie and cookies at the obon. They both satisfied my sweet tooth. :)

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Bake Sale
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Face Painting Booth

The obon had many games and activities for the youth to participate in. There was a ping pong toss game, a "catch a balloon" booth, a rubber duckie race booth and this face painting booth. Here, children could get pictures painted on their cheeks, noses, foreheads, etc. Some of the …

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Face Painting Booth
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Moon Bounce

This is the first time I've seen a moon bounce at an obon festival. The temple was charging $1 to jump around in the moon bounce. It looked like so much fun!

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Moon Bounce
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Bingo

Every obon that I've been to has had some sort of Bingo game going on in a lower level of the church or temple. I suppose people really enjoy it, because the bingo room is always full. This temple's bingo room was in the same area as the udon eating …

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Bingo
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Performers!

These dancers were really innovative, performing traditional dance to modern music, like the Titanic theme, "My Heart Will Go On."

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Performers!
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Taiko

Bombu and Kitsune Taiko performed at the 2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon. They performed separately at first, and then together. This picture is from their opening number, which was very relaxed, yet upbeat and very energetic!

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Taiko
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dancing 1

The dancing began at around 7pm on Saturday, July 28, 2007 at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon. There was one break, and then it continued until 9pm. This is the first obon where I participated in the dancing, and I had so much fun!

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dancing 1
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dancing 2

This dance involved special wooden clappers, and the temple had some extras for those of us that failed to bring our own. However, many people snapped their fingers in place of flicking a clapper, as you can see in this picture.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dancing 2
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Water Distribution

The dancing portion of the obon festival was broken into two halves. During the break, obon administrators and volunteers passed out water bottles to the dancers.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Water Distribution
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Uchiwa Distribution

There is a special dance done at festivals that involves the use of an uchiwa, or a fan. Here, an obon administrator distributes uchiwas to those who did not bring their own.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Uchiwa Distribution
Contributed by: eishida

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dancing 3

The dancing at the 2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple obon lasted from 7pm to 9pm. So, the second half was done in the dark, as you can see here.

2007 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon - Dancing 3
Contributed by: eishida

Album Type

online exhibition

eishida — Last modified Jun 28 2021 1:49 a.m.


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