Obon 2027 Countdown
Friday, August 13, 2027 – August 15, 2027
Obon 2027 is on Friday, August 13, 2027 — 301 days away as of October 16, 2026.
What is Obon?
Obon is a traditional festival in Buddhism observed each year over 3 days. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist observance held in mid-August (13-15), when families welcome the spirits of their ancestors back home.
Also known as: Bon, Bon Festival, O-bon, Urabon.
When is Obon in 2027?
Obon 2027 is on Friday, August 13, 2027. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist observance held in mid-August (13-15), when families welcome the spirits of their ancestors back home.
How many days until Obon?
As of October 16, 2026, there are 301 days until Obon, which falls on Friday, August 13, 2027. That’s 301 days · about 43 weeks · about 10 months.
What day of the week is Obon 2027 on?
Obon 2027 falls on a Friday, beginning Friday, August 13, 2027.
Is Obon a public holiday?
Obon is widely observed, but it is not a nationwide public holiday in any of the countries we currently track.
- Date
- Friday, August 13, 2027
- Type
- Traditional Festivals
- Religion
- Buddhism
- Observed by
- 1 country
- Duration
- 3 days
- Frequency
- Annual
Obon is a Japanese Buddhist observance held in mid-August (13-15), when families welcome the spirits of their ancestors back home. It is marked across Japan with grave visits, glowing lanterns, community Bon Odori dances and offerings at the family altar.
History
Obon traces its roots to the Ullambana Sutra, a Buddhist text that reached Japan alongside the broader transmission of the faith in the sixth and seventh centuries. Its central story tells of the monk Mokuren (Maudgalyayana), who used meditative insight to find his late mother suffering in a realm of hunger. Following the Buddha's counsel, he made offerings to a gathering of monks, and through their collective merit his mother found release. The court chronicle Nihon Shoki records an Urabon-e ceremony held in 657 CE under Empress Saimei, giving the festival one of the longest continuous histories of any Japanese celebration. Over the following centuries the rite spread outward from the imperial court and monasteries into village and household life. During the Heian and Kamakura periods it fused with older native customs of welcoming ancestral spirits home, and by the Edo period (1603–1868) it had become a fixture of the popular calendar, complete with lanterns, family graveside visits, and communal dancing. The rhythmic Bon Odori dance, performed to drums in town squares, grew into the festival's most public expression and varies distinctly from region to region. When Japan reformed its calendar in 1873, communities settled on different dates, so today Obon is marked in July in some areas and in mid-August in most others, when millions travel to their ancestral hometowns.
Meaning
At its heart, Obon is a season of reunion between the living and the dead. Families believe the spirits of ancestors briefly return to visit their descendants, and so households clean graves, prepare offerings of food and flowers, and light welcoming lanterns to guide the spirits home. The gesture is less about mourning than about gratitude and continuity, an annual acknowledgment that those who came before remain woven into the life of the family. The festival also carries a strong communal warmth. Bon Odori dances draw neighbors of every generation into shared circles of movement, turning private remembrance into public celebration. On the final evening, floating lanterns and farewell fires such as Kyoto's mountainside blazes send the spirits gently back. For many, Obon is the emotional anchor of the summer, a time to slow down, return to one's roots, and feel connected across the generations.
Around the world
Observed in Japan.
Traditions
Bon Odori
Community folk dances held under paper lanterns, circling a raised yagura platform, performed to welcome and honour the visiting spirits of the ancestors.
Ohaka mairi (grave visits)
Families clean and tend their ancestors' graves, offering fresh flowers, water and incense during the Obon days.
Mukae-bi and okuri-bi (welcoming and send-off fires)
Small fires and lit lanterns are set out to guide the spirits home at the start of Obon and to see them off gently at its close.
Toro nagashi (floating lanterns)
On the final evening, glowing paper lanterns are floated on rivers and along the sea to accompany the spirits on their return.
Butsudan offerings and shoryo-uma
Favourite foods, fruit and flowers are arranged on the household altar; small figures of a cucumber 'horse' and an eggplant 'ox' are fashioned to carry the spirits to and from home.
Festive foods
Somen
Chilled thin wheat noodles, a summer favourite that is also offered to the ancestors at the altar during Obon.
Ohagi and botamochi
Sweet glutinous-rice balls coated in red-bean paste, a traditional offering placed for the returning spirits.
Shojin ryori
Buddhist vegetarian cuisine of seasonal vegetables and tofu, prepared in keeping with the reflective spirit of the observance.
Obon dates by year
Frequently asked questions
When is Obon?
Obon is most commonly held on August 13-15. Some regions, including parts of Tokyo, observe it in mid-July instead, following the older lunar reckoning.
What is Obon?
Obon is a Japanese Buddhist observance honouring the spirits of one's ancestors, who are believed to return home to visit their families during the festival.
What is Bon Odori?
Bon Odori is the folk dance of Obon, performed in a circle around a raised platform to welcome and honour the returning spirits. Its steps and songs vary from region to region.
Why are lanterns important during Obon?
Lanterns light the way for ancestral spirits: chochin lanterns are hung to guide them home, and floating lanterns (toro nagashi) send them off again at the festival's close.
Is Obon a public holiday in Japan?
Obon itself is not an official national holiday, but mid-August is one of Japan's main holiday seasons, and many businesses close so people can travel home to their families.
What is toro nagashi?
Toro nagashi is the custom of floating paper lanterns down rivers or out to sea on the final evening of Obon, symbolically guiding the ancestors' spirits back on their journey.
What are mukaebi and okuribi?
Mukaebi are small welcoming fires lit at the doorstep or graveside on the first evening of Obon to guide the ancestors home, and okuribi are the farewell fires lit on the last evening to see them off. Kyoto’s Gozan no Okuribi, five giant bonfires lit on the surrounding mountainsides on August 16, is the most famous example.
How long does Obon last?
Obon most commonly lasts three days, August 13 to 15, the dates this countdown follows. Some areas extend it to August 16, when send-off fires such as Kyoto’s Gozan no Okuribi close the festival, while parts of eastern Japan observe it in mid-July and Okinawa follows the lunar calendar.
What foods are offered during Obon?
Families place vegetarian offerings on a spirit altar, including seasonal fruit, rice, and sweets. A well-known custom involves shaping a cucumber into a horse and an eggplant into a cow, representing swift arrival and a slow, unhurried departure for the visiting spirits.
Related
Date source: Fixed Gregorian calendar date · time zone Asia/Tokyo. Last checked October 5, 2026. Spotted an error? Report it — we respond within 48 hours.