Delray Subaru Presents Lantern Festival: In the Spirit of Obon

If you’re a longtime fan of Morikami’s Bon Festival, you may have noticed it absent from our summer calendar. You may have also noticed the introduction of Lantern Festival in October. We wanted to explain how Morikami’s much-loved summer event evolved into Lantern Festival: In the Spirit of Obon, and why you should be just as excited for this first ever fall celebration.

In an effort to protect the safety of Morikami visitors and staff, we felt compelled to move Bon Festival out of the often inclement and even dangerous Florida summer months. Obon, however, is a traditional and religious Japanese holiday celebrated exclusively during the months of July and August in Japan. Morikami’s annual Bon Festival – in its 35^th year in 2012 – has always been a family-centered celebration dedicated to honoring and remembering one’s ancestors.

In order to preserve the essence of Morikami’s much-loved event and the sanctity of Obon as it is celebrated in Japan, in October we will celebrate The Lantern Festival: In the Spirit of Obon. Visitors to this event will observe the iconic floating lanterns that have come to define Bon Festival at Morikami. And while we will we continue to feature taiko drumming, Japanese folk-dancing and even our interpretation of an ennichi street fair, these offerings will reflect a fall festival in Japan, instead of Obon-specific traditions one would only witness in Japan during summer months.

We hope you will see these changes, as we do, in keeping with our mission to educate, entertain and inspire our visitors by providing authentic Japanese cultural experiences. As a bonus, this year, we’ll be offering discounted rates on admission for those who buy early! Below is the pricing schedule:

Please note that there will be NO tickets sold at the gate and that we are limiting admission to Lantern Festival.  Tickets will only be available online through our Lantern Festival event page.  This way, we can ensure a breezy festival-entry for all our ticketed guests, and everyone gets to skip the line!

Morikami members still get in free and do not need to reserve their tickets in advance.  If you’re a member but unsure if your membership level covers your Lantern Festival guests, feel free to email morikamimembers@pbcgov.org – we’re here to help!

Be sure to stay in touch with us here, and on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram where you’ll be able to enter for a chance to win tickets to Lantern Festival, and get the inside scoop on this one-of-a-kind autumn celebration. See you this fall!

UPDATE: 6/28/13

We hope you all are as excited as we are for Lantern Festival in October! Don’t forget that tickets go on sale THIS MONDAY 7/1/13 and will be at the lowest price available! If you haven’t had a chance to check out the event website yet you might have missed all that we’ll be offering at our Ennichi Street Fair and on our main entertainment stage – here’s what you can expect:

 

 

Morikami’s ennichi street fair features kids’ games, food and shopping, and will be bigger and better than ever before!

SHOP

Browse an array of Japanese items from some of the best vendors Morikami has to offer. From bonsai and tea to spices and Japanese snacks, there’s something for everyone!

EAT 

As the Japanese saying goes “shokuyoku no aki” – Fall is the season for eating, and we are proud to bring you a variety of traditional Japanese fall flavors including sweet potatoes, roasted nuts and fried tofu.

PLAY

Try your hand at one of our traditional Japanese festival games, or participate in some our uniquely-fall activities like the DIY Red Maple Forest, Moon Viewing, and Lunar Poetry Wall. We’ll also offer great kids’ activities and entertainment for all ages throughout the evening.

Kid’s activities and games will include:

• Mask Making
• Kokeshi Ring Toss
• Yoyo Balloons
• Badminton
• Bucket Toss
• Scarecrow Throw
• Maneki Neko Toss
• Giant Tic-Tac-Toe

 

 

Lantern Festival features rousing taiko drum performances by Fushu Daiko, kids’ activities and traditional Japanese folk dancing .  At the end of the evening, visitors watch hundreds of paper lanterns – each lit by a single candle – dot Morikami Lake, against a sky of fireworks.

Our Tentative Lantern Fest Entertainment Schedule Includes:

Taiko Drumming By Fushu Daiko
3:30pm, 5:00pm, 6:15pm

Japanese Folk Dancing
4:15pm, 5:45pm

Lantern Floating Ceremony
7:00pm

Fireworks
7:45pm

Be sure to check the entertainment page of the website for the most up to date schedule!

UPDATE: 7/24/13

Delray Subaru is the official Presenting Sponsor of Lantern Festival! For the second year in a row, we’re thrilled to call this fantastic philanthropic organization our partner, and we’re more grateful than ever for their support!

Our First Ever Social Media Lantern

With Bon Festival just under four (!) weeks away, we’re highlighting what’s new this year, beginning with our favorite addition to the Obon repertoire – our Social Media Lantern.

Each year at Bon Festival, Morikami staff handcrafts close to 1,000 paper lanterns, inscribed with messages from our visitors to loved ones who have passed away.  At the end of the night, each lantern, lit by a single candle, is released into Morikami Lake as part of tōrō nagashi: literally, lantern floating.   These lanterns are meant to guide visiting spirits, who have returned during Obon for a brief visit to the living, back to the otherworld.

Last year 9,000 guests at Bon Festival watched hundreds of lanterns cover Morikami Lake in glowing, floating rectangles.  Hundreds caught them on film, and dozens shared these photos with our online community on Facebook and Twitter, more than 20,000 strong and growing.  We reach fans throughout the US, but our second largest Facebook audience tunes in today from Colombia, then the UK, Canada, Japan, Spain, Peru, and so on. Short of hopping on a plane to join us next month, how can our most faraway fans experience the magic of Obon too?

Enter our Social Media Lantern.  We’re asking you, our online community, to share messages to loved ones lost to complete the lantern we’ll display at this year’s Bon Festival (and of which we’ll share photos afterwards – via social media, of course).  Submit your message on Facebook through our Social Media Lantern button or on Twitter with #mylantern.  Joining us but want to share your message anyway?  Please do; our first ever Social Media Lantern connects our entire online community.

Happy 35th Birthday to Us!

Just about 35 years ago today, the Morikami Museum opened its doors for the very first time.  We’re celebrating three-and-a-half decades of bringing Japan to South Florida on Tuesday, June 26 with a day of discounts, special tours, and extended hours.  If you follow us on Twitter and Facebook, you’ve noticed we’ve been counting down the 35 days to our 35th anniversary with a fascinating Morikami fact, one for each day.  Here’s the complete list, with  a sneak peek to the Morikami tidbits we have yet to reveal this week.  We’re sure you’ll learn something new about us!

1. There really was a George Sukeji Morikami, who in his 80s, donated land to Palm Beach County for a park to honor the memory of the Yamato colony. Yamato Road in Boca Raton is named after the Yamato Colony.

2. Yamato is an ancient name for Japan.

3. The Morikami is a living monument, building a bridge of cultural understanding between George Morikami’s two homelands, Japan and the U.S.

4. Roji-en, literally the Garden of the Drops of Dew, celebrated its 10^th anniversary last year.

5. There are six diverse gardens in Roji-en, each inspired by a different historical period and style of Japanese gardening.

6. Morikami membership has its benefits, from free admission to the museum and festivals to discounted pricing and VIP access to exhibits and amenities.

7. Volunteer opportunities abound! Be a docent, tend to our bonsai, or just help us with our special events or summer programs.

8. The Morikami hosts an average of 48 weddings each year.

9. More than 1000 bowls of tea are served each year at the Japanese Tea Ceremony in the Seishin-an Tea House, an ever-changing demonstration rich in seasonal subtleties.

10. The Bento Box is the favorite menu item at the Cornell Café, which was judged by the Food Network as one of the top three museum dining experiences in the country.

11. For audio tour lovers, there is a self-guided garden audio tour in both English and Spanish.

12. 135! That is the number of exhibits the Morikami has hosted in the past 35 years. That doesn’t include the online exhibits, an alternative way to sample an authentic Morikami experience.

13. A portion of George Morikami’s remains are in the museum’s collection, which also includes Japanese articles of daily life from the Meiji Period (1868-1912) to the present.

14. Japanese artifact ID is one of the many specialty services the museum provides for free to members and at a nominal fee for visitors.

15. Books, glorious books! The Donald B. Gordon library houses 7,000 volumes on all topics Japanese.

16. What’s more than a thousand years old and sustained in a container? Bonsai – see over 50 of them, ranging from 5 to 500 years old in the museum’s onsite exhibit.

17. More than 13,000 visitors attend Hatsume Fair, the museum’s largest annual event celebrating the first bud of spring.

18. If munching on sushi with the sounds of Taiko drums playing in the background sounds like the perfect way to beat the heat, then the Morikami “Sushi and Stroll” program is the right event for your summer calendar.

19. Over the past 10 years, the Morikami has sailed more than 5,000 lanterns during Bon Festival. It takes approximately one hour to release the hundreds of lanterns handcrafted for each Bon Festival into Morikami Lake.

20. The Morikami received a donation of Okinawan cherry blossoms in 2003. The trees bloomed for the first time in 2009, a rare sight in South Florida.

21. Koi are a collection piece in Japanese culture. Morikami Lake is home to hundreds of Koi, who live harmoniously with numerous turtles.

22. Each rock/boulder in Roji-en was carefully selected and strategically placed throughout the gardens and were brought in from Texas and North Carolina.

23. The ponds in Paradise Garden roughly resemble the Japanese kanji for “heart,” a favored pond design occurring in many gardens in Japan.

24. Each summer, the Morikami’s MORY (More Opportunity to Reach Youth) program serves an average of 425 underserved children in our community.

25. If you spend some time in Bamboo Grove, you’ll likely hear the beautiful music made by the singing bamboo. This spot in the garden is a guest favorite!

26. The Morikami offers 100 educational offerings annually – ranging from learning Japanese to mastering the art of Sogetsu flower arranging.

27. Morikami’s galleries exhibit more than 500 artifacts per year.

28. The oldest artifact in our collection is a Jōmon Period pot, dating back to 5000 BCE – it’s about 7,000 years old!

29. There are 19 stone lanterns throughout the garden and no two are the same.

30. Morikami’s Challenger Lantern is dedicated to the seven Challenger astronauts, including Ellison Onizuka, a Japanese American and first person of Asian descent to travel to space.

31. Morikami goes through 15 pounds of rice for each mochitsuki, or rice-pounding ceremony, during our annual New Year’s celebration, Oshogatsu.

32. On a regular day in the garden you might see iguanas, bobcats, turtles, koi, armadillos, rabbits, squirrels, over 100 species of birds, and even alligators! Some animals we see so often we give them a name: “Harry the Heron” (technically an egret) likes to frequent the lobby rock garden.

33. Morikami’s Wisdom Ring was a gift from its sister city, Miyazu, Japan in 1997 to commemorate the museum’s 20^th anniversary.

34. You can’t call Morikami camera shy! The museum and gardens have appeared in fashion shoots by Boca Raton Magazine, on the TLC show Four Weddings and even a Busta Rhymes music video.

35. Since its first Oshogatsu in 1978, Morikami has celebrated almost three complete cycles of the Japanese Zodiac calendar. 2012 is the year of the dragon and in 2013 we’ll ring in the year of the snake.

What’s New at Obon 2012

Last year we saw our biggest Obon ever. In just five hours, we welcomed almost 9,000 people.  The overwhelming popularity of our once-small event brought with it long lines, large crowds, barely enough parking spaces, and difficulty for guests and staff alike in navigating Morikami grounds.   While still a magical and unforgettable evening, this year we want to offer you an experience that’s more intimate, enjoyable, and just as exciting.  Lucky for us, you told us you want the same thing.  In the words of one visitor, “Perhaps it would be a good idea to limit the amount of people so that everyone can enjoy the festival and all it has to offer?”   We couldn’t agree more.

This year, for the first time, we are limiting admission to Bon Festival, coming up Saturday, August 18.  In years past, we offered tickets online and at the gate.  This year, tickets will only be available online through our Bon Festival event page.  This way, we can ensure a breezy festival-entry experience for all our ticketed guests.  Everyone at Obon gets to skip the line this year.  As always, Morikami members get in free, and do not need to reserve their tickets in advance.  Are you a member but unsure if your membership level covers your Bon Festival guests?  Email morikamimembers@pbcgov.org – we’re here to help!

Tickets will go on sale this Friday, June 1 and are expected to sell out.  We strongly encourage you to buy your tickets before August 1.  In fact, we’re giving away exclusive Obon Experience packages to five lucky winners who purchase their tickets before then.  Expect yours to include Obon staples – fans, water, Japanese snacks – and a few things a little harder to come by, like a VIP parking pass and Morikami membership.*

In Japan, travel spikes in July and August as families reunite to spend Obon together.  We want to preserve the tradition of remembrance and celebration at our own version of Obon.  We feel confident that by improving your individual festival experience, we can keep this spirit intact for years and years to come.  We can’t wait to share the 35^th annual Bon Festival with you!

 *Complete Obon Experience package includes a Morikami tote bag, fans, water, snacks, $25 worth of food & beverage tickets, one lantern sleeve, one VIP parking pass, one Morikami dual membership, a commemorative Morikami 35th Anniversary keychain, a $20 Museum Store gift certificate, two coupons for Yo-Yo Balloons, two fast-track gallery admission passes, two VIP taiko performance seats.  The Obon Experience package is NOT available for purchase.

Sign of Spring: Harutsugegusa

Sign of Spring: Harutsugegusa

The Morikami Museum’s annual spring festival “Hatsume” has become well known in Florida. This year the two day celebration will be March 19^th and 20^th. There is no Hatsume festival in Japan; however, if you know the meaning of the word, you would certainly appreciate and understand the naming of this celebration. Some readers who studied Japanese will figure out that “Hatsume” is the spring festival. The character of “hatsu” means the first or new, and “me” means a bud. Certainly, Floridians are enjoying soft warm spring weather. 

Gorgeous Japanese cherry blossoms are a sign of spring in Washington D.C. The National Cherry Blossom Festival will be March 26-April 10 this year.

Cherry blossoms in Japan, sakura, are beautiful in April, but there is an equally beautiful blossom enjoyed by Japanese and visiting foreigners at the end of February and early March before sakura bloom. These blossoms (pictured below) are a sign of spring in Japan. 

Guess the name of this tree!

Can you guess the name of this tree pictured? 

*Japanese call the blossom “harutsugegusa.” These three Japanese characters are spring, tell and plant, which translates as “sign of spring.” However, this is not a commonly known name.

*The plant is known by a number of different names in English. One of them is Japanese apricot.

*The tree originated in South China.

If you find out the name of tree, send your answer quick. The first to respond will receive  a pair of tickets to Hatsume Fair!

Memories of Bon – A Festival like No Other

After so many years, it’s hard to recall when the memories were made exactly, but the images remain like postcards from the Morikami in my mind… Every summer, the Morikami closes for one Saturday in August to open in the late afternoon for Obon, the cultural celebration that welcomes back spirits who have passed away for an evening of fun and music.

At the end of the festival, lanterns inscribed with messages to the spirits are set adrift on Morikami Pond, sending the loved ones back to the afterworld, as fireworks light the way.

This year, Bon is August 14 from 4-9 p.m. at the Morikami. If you have never been, wear comfy shoes and clothes, arrive early and marvel at the mix of humanity – because everyone goes to Bon sooner or later. Buy tickets at www.morikami.org/bon

Here are a few of my favorite recollections of Obon:

Bon Memory #1: Dancing in front of the Bon Odori stage with the kimono-clad Chitose Kai dancers should make you feel somewhat idiotic, but it doesn’t. The dancers are so elegant, and they’re all smiling at you, which makes you feel like you’re doing it right – even though you just learned the steps. Just step and wave, step and wave, step and wave…

Bon Memory #2: Standing at the base of the steps leading up to the Museum and the Cornell Café, pondering whether you want a meal with an eggroll from the Café or a piece of meat on a stick with Japanese beer from the fun, food vendors. Roll or stick, roll or stick, roll or stick…

Bon Memory #3: Just how warm and sticky can it get in South Florida on an August evening outside?? The world may never know, but you’re close to finding out…

Bon Memory #4: Seeing the message to your late aunt written on a lantern sleeve floating on the water among the many other lanterns, as you think you “feel” her in the air…

Bon Memory #5: A little boy sits motionless on his father’s shoulders watching the lantern-spirits float away, then tilts his head back and takes in the fireworks, still motionless, in little boy awe.

Bon Odori dancers

Bon lanterns

Obon fireworks

Taking a Walk Down Taiko Memory Lane

This weekend, the taiko drumming ensemble, Fushu Daiko, will perform for the 20^th time at Hatsume. Hatsume Fair is the Morikami’s springtime festival, spanning two days and 14 hours of fun. (11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday)

I’ve been working with the Morikami for the past 10 years; so for half that time, I have witnessed Fushu Daiko’s thundering influence on Hatsume crowds. Amazing cannot describe the energy and excitement when they take the stage.

When I first started writing for the museum, I knew NOTHING of taiko drumming, so my family and I traveled down to their warehouse-like studios in western Ft. Lauderdale. They were rehearsing at night, and we stood silently by and listened. It felt like a train was barreling through that bay. The wooden sticks flew up and down in synchronized rhythms, as people of all shapes and sizes, sweated out the music. It looked more like a workout than a musical performance. Of course, it was both.

I learned that when my family and I took a taiko drumming workshop at the Morikami several years later. Inside the auditorium, we were paired up with a big taiko drum and a pair of fat wooden sticks. You assume a warrior-type, yoga stance to support your body and hit the drum with measured ferocity. Everything hurts when you’re done. Your back, your legs, your hands, your arms.

At that moment, when I walked off the auditorium stage, sweaty and tired, I gained new respect for the men and women of Fushu Daiko, who perform three times a day for two days at Hatsume in sets that can last for 30 minutes or more.

A few rules have emerged over years of watching Fushu Daiko at Hatsume:

1) Stake a seat early if you want to see the action up close. By the time the drums start thundering, it’s standing room only, and I always get stuck behind a really tall dude.

2) If it’s hot, wear sunscreen, but don’t put up an umbrella or some other covering. It’s not nice to the people behind you, who want to see the stage too!

3) Don’t expect the drummers to be Japanese. There are some drummers of Japanese heritage in Fushu Daiko, but the diversity on stage is representative of the diversity of South Florida – black, white, Hispanic, male, female, young, old(er) – all have become part of the troupe that sends the booming message that it’s Hatsume time!

Happy Anniversary, Fushu Daiko!

Fushu Daiko Excites Hatsume Crowds for 20th Time This Weekend

Reiko Remembers The Meaning of Japan’s True New Year

This blog is written by the Morikami’s Director of Education Reiko (pronounced “Lay-ko”) Nishioka, who is native Japanese and later moved to the United States. In 2010, she will contribute to “More Morikami…” and share her cultural inspirations and memories. Happy New Year!

I was asked to write about my favorite holiday/celebration by a local magazine several years ago. I chose Oshogatsu, the Japanese New Year celebration, even though I have been living in the U.S. for more than 30 years. I miss it dearly, although I work at the Morikami and celebrate Oshogatsu with visitors every year.  (The 2010 festival will be held January 10, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.)

In Japan, the New Year is celebrated for three days, from January 1 through 3.  So when December 31 approaches, people become very busy. They clean and decorate their houses, cook meals for the time of holidays, pound rice for mochi (rice cake), write greeting cards and attend year-end parties. There is one more, very important thing that Japanese traditionally do at the end of the year, and that is clearing away all debts and obligations. PHEW!

Lots of effort is given in preparation for the New Year, but on December 31 at midnight, the above activities stop. Bells at all temples ring 108 times which, according to the Buddhist religion, symbolize human desires. The last peal drives the desires away, and the new year is greeted in a pure condition.

What I like about the Oshogatsu observance is the symbolism of time. Graduations, weddings or retirements are lifetime experiences; they are “knots” of life. Japanese call these fushi, like the knots of bamboo. This is where the significant border between the old and the new, and the symbolism of time, lie. For example, yesterday was December 31 and the end of the year; today is January 1, and everything is treated new, like a new “knot.” A lot of people go to see the first sunrise; we even cherish the first dream of the new year. Whatever we do, we call it the “first …..of the year.” Oshogatsu is the time to renew.

My memory of Oshogatsu is quiet and calm during the three days of observance. Stores are closed, and there is no cooking as meals have been prepared in advance. Therefore, we have enough time to reflect on the past year and make a wish or set a goal for the upcoming year.

Oh, how I miss the quiet of those three days!

Families watch "shishimai," or the lion dancer, at Oshogatsu, the New Year's celebration; Jan. 10, 2010 at the Morikami