JAPANESE FOOD, IDEAS CELEBRATED.Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer As Jim Higashida of North Hills cheerfully collected money at a game booth during the Obon Festival at the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Japanese American Japanese Americans (日系アメリカ人 Nikkei Amerikajin Community Center on Saturday, he thought about his uncle who recently died. ``Obon is very important because it is a time to remember the people who passed away. (We) have this festive atmosphere to tell them we're doing well. They're watching us and enjoying that we're enjoying life and that we are living in harmony "Living in Harmony" is an episode of the 1967-68 television series The Prisoner. It differs from most other episodes of the series in that it does not begin with the show's standard opening credits sequence. here,'' Higashida said. Many of about 3,500 who attended the Obon Festival remembered loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl who have died and were honored in Bon Odori dances, with performers dressed in colorful kimonos or yukatas. The Mugen Taiko
lightness, elation joy, joyfulness, joyousness - the emotion of great happiness euphoria, euphory - a feeling of great (usually exaggerated) elation high spirits npl as they played with friends - as in squirting each other with water guns on a summer day. ``It's a way of remembering my great-grandmother and grandpa,'' said Ryan Takemoto of Arleta as he ducked from the path of his friend's water gun. ``I've done the dances and visited their grave every now and then.'' The event, commonly known as the Festival of Souls, is a yearly observance asking Buddhists to remember their deceased ancestors with greetings and food offerings. Buddhists believe that the spirits of loved ones visit them during this time, and Obon is a type of memorial service that celebrates joy and oneness of life. In the home, it is customary to place food on an altar and open doors and windows Doors and Windows is a multimedia disk by the Irish band The Cranberries. Track listing
People from various religions joined the festival, setting up game booths and selling ethnic foods from around the world. A classroom ordinarily used to teach Japanese was temporarily a small sushi restaurant, with dozens of diners lined up outside. Another booth featured Okinawan dangos or Japanese-style doughnuts. ``A lot of the times, we just go for the food,'' said Kevin Kobayashi of the Southern District's Young Buddhist League. People came from Riverside, San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. and Ventura counties, as well as from throughout the Valley, to attend the festival sponsored annually for more than 40 years by the Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Pacoima. Mae Nawrocki of Riverside bought her three grandchildren for a cultural lesson. Her family is a blend of Japanese, Polish and Cuban heritage, and she wants the young ones to know about their widespread roots. ``We have almost the whole U.N. in our family,'' she said. ``They don't really get this in Riverside. I bring them here to see all their cousins and learn about each other and the diverse cultures in this family. It makes them more open to everyone,'' Nawrocki said of her annual trip. One of her grandsons, Hardee Mitchell, 6, gave his own interpretation of the annual festival as he played with ink and stamps at the craft table. ``It just means another fun time. That's all it means. It means another Obon - all the way into the night!'' CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1) Lil Tompkins, left, and Akira Kimura look at a bonsai bonsai (bōn`sī), art of cultivating dwarf trees. Bonsai, developed by the Japanese more than a thousand years ago, is derived from the Chinese practice of growing miniature plants. tree Saturday in a festival at the Valley Japanese-American Community Center. (2-3) Irene Kaneshiro, foreground, and Toshie Nishimura fry Japanese-style doughnuts in a festival Saturday. At right, Feliciano Vargas uses chopsticks. Evan Yee/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion