Obon

See also: öbon

English

Etymology

From Japanese お盆 (おぼん, Obon).

Proper noun

Obon

1. (Buddhism) A Japanese festival to honour the spirits of one's ancestors.
   • 2013, Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being, Canongate Books (2019), page 222:

     It was coming up to Obon, and spirits were cruising about like travelers arriving at the airport with their suitcases, looking for a place to check in. Obon was their summer vacation, too, when they could come back from the land of the dead to visit us here, in the land of the so-called living.

Synonyms

• Bon
• Bon Festival

Translations

a Japanese festival

• Arabic: بُون m (būn), بُون m (bon)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 盂蘭盆／盂兰盆 (zh) (Yúlánpén), 盂蘭盆會／盂兰盆会 (zh) (Yúlánpénhuì), 日本盆會／日本盆会 (Rìběn pénhuì)

• Japanese: お盆 (おぼん, Obon), 盂蘭盆 (ja) (うらぼん, Urabon), 盂蘭盆會 (うらぼんえ, Urabon'e)
• Korean: 오본 (Obon)
• Malay: Obon
• Russian: Обо́н m (Obón)

Anagrams

• Bono, NOBO, boon, noob

Japanese

Romanization

Obon

1. Rōmaji transcription of おぼん