Floating lanterns - Toronagashi

It is a type of event to see off ancestors who were welcomed into homes during O-bon. It is also a memorial service for those who died by drowning or lost their souls. At the end of O-bon, many regions build boats out of straw or planks, load them with offerings and set them adrift on a river or into the sea. Incense is lit on the spirit boats, and in places like Sado City, young people accompany large straw boats out to sea, light them on fire, and then swim back home. Houses celebrating the first O-bon release decorated spirit boats, while those celebrating other occasions release straw bales with candles on them. Memorial services for those who died by drowning or lost their souls were not limited to O-bon, but the two have come to influence each other. According to Sugae Masumi's "Kumeji no Hashi" (Hashis of Kumeji), in the late modern period, in what is now Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture, there was an event in which straw bundles were set on fire and released into the river on the 16th of Obon to honor the souls of those who had drowned. As it was a summer event held near the water, many of these events became tourist attractions and a way to cool off, and some are also held to commemorate the war dead in connection with the anniversary of the end of World War II (August 15th).

[Shoji Inoguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

盆に家々に迎えた先祖を送り帰す行事の一種。あるいは水死者や無縁仏(むえんぼとけ)に対する供養行事。盆の終わりに、麦藁(むぎわら)や板で舟をつくり、供え物などをいっぱい乗せて川や海に流す地方が多い。その精霊船に線香を立てたり、佐渡(さど)市などでは大きな麦藁舟に付き添って若者たちが沖へ出、点火して燃え盛るのを見て泳ぎ帰る例などがある。初盆の家では飾りたてた精霊船を流し、初盆以外の家では桟俵(さんだわら)にろうそくを立てたのを流したりした。一方、水死者や無縁仏の供養は盆に限ったものではなかったが、互いに影響しあうようになった。菅江真澄(すがえますみ)の『来目路(くめじ)の橋』によると、近世末にいまの長野県大町市では、水死者の亡魂を祭るために盆の16日に藁束に火をつけて川に流す行事があった。夏の水辺行事ということから納涼・観光行事になったものも多く、また第二次世界大戦の終戦記念日（8月15日）との関係から戦没者の慰霊のために行うものもある。

［井之口章次］

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