Spirit Boat Procession
spirit boat procession 精霊流し shōrō nagashi event celebrated various place nagasaki prefecture japan part bon festival event soul deceased mourned procession take place august every year procession people float boat said carrying spirit deceased river spirit said sent sukhavati done act mourning lost family member past year though people mourning participate well many japanese festival people carry firecracker gong often sound kakegoe boat built look like festival float many tourist come see event despite atmosphere procession actually buddhist event mourning deceased one time boat floated ocean recent year boat retrieved go far prevent polluting ocean reported people attended event boat called shōrōbune 精霊船 boat said carry soul deceased boat mainly built people lost family member last year though also built others boat built quantity different supply particular one preferred bamboo grass often used though cogongrass popular saikai nagasaki people use hardened corrugated cardboard people mourning decorate boat family crest put portrait deceased mortuary tablet boat also sometimes use token exemplifies person eg shogi player may shogi piece boat mourning generally build small laced raft set obon lantern fruit nonnatural flower instead boat made individual family member generally meter often boat also sail sutra buddha kannon larger boat called moyaibune created sent neighborhood local council organization prior sort boat popular individual family boat expensive considered relatively luxurious neighborhood boat usually adorned town icon paper lantern family crest hung boat recent year less traditional boat gained popularity boat discussed kawari shorobune 変わり精霊船 becoming progressively popular example boat would yachtshaped boat someone avid sailor various theory festival origin though believed strongly influenced similar chinese festival meaning firecracker fired side road leading launching place come chinese idea ward evil spirit passing boat cleansed masashi sada native nagasaki wrote song called shoro nagashi essentially festival recorded along masami yoshida band name grape released end sadas father died family sailed boat honor father footage broadcast around country bon odori obon tōrō nagashi shoronagashi nagasaki city japanese nagasaki newspaper writeup japanese