On July 14th, I traveled to Fresno, California to check out the Fresno Obon Festival 2018.
The first event took place back in 1945 and the event was celebrating their 73rd year and since my college years, I have been attending nearly every event.
What I enjoy about this event is seeing everyone with smiles, everyone enjoying themselves but there is a certain peace that I find while attending this event (and the other Obon Festivals in the Central Valley) no matter how hot the weather is (as Fresno temperatures can reach up to 110 or more, one year I went, I remember it reached 115F).
Each year I do attend, I do hope that the tradition continues. A lot of the people I met and were the leaders many years ago, have passed away. And now their children or their children’s children are now the next generation trying to preserve the cultural dances or are among the leaders preserving that tradition.
I know it has been a concern with some of the older members in the past, who I have spoken to on a yearly basis, have seen the Japanese American population change since the 1940’s. After many were kept in internment camps, some stayed to raise their families, while others moved to other areas around California or out of California. Some who are concerned about the Obon festival attendance or those who will continue to keep the tradition alive for many years to come.
One has to remember that before World War II, Fresno had a huge Japanese population. They had a Nissei Baseball League and even baseball legends, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig came to Fresno back in 1927 to play ball with the valley’s top baseball players, including some notable Japanese athletes.
As a matter of fact, the first Japanese to the valley arrived as early as the 1890’s to begin farming at a Muscat grape vineyard when ranchers were actively recruiting Japanese workers from Sacramento and Stockton, and by 1897, there were 3,000 Japanese grape pickers working on ranches in the valley (a few of my friends who are Japanese living in the Central Valley, their parents had their own vineyard or maintained vineyards).
Because of the large population, Japanese businesses were setup for the migrant laborers and Fresno’s Nihonmachi was established on Kern and G Street.
By 1910, the Japanese population in Fresno County was 2,233 people and by 1920, there were 5,732 residents with 187 businesses.
But in the 1940’s, 100,000+ Japanese-Americans were sent to internment camps and many Japanese were forced to leave their homes, careers, farms and businesses.
While many families moved to other areas in California or outside of the state, Fresno still maintained a good population and it still has the Fresno Fish Market, while the first Yaohan that was created back in 1979 in Fresno didn’t have the same longevity compared to its bigger city counterparts
But I have known numerous Japanese-American families who remained in the valley still show dedication to their Buddhist church, activities and also annually give their best for their obon festival. And so far, I’ve had a lot of fun. May it be the old location at K Street or the newer current location on Alluvial.
Fresno Obon Festival 1998
Fresno Obon Festival 2008 at the K St. location
While I was unable to make it to the event back in 2017 due to work commitments, I attended this year and it was great to see new faces but also people I have seen throughout the years and also teenagers, now adults who are involved with the event.
I’m grateful once again for the event organizers for putting on a successful event and to those who have been kind to let me take their photos from the past to present.
In the past, I was able to shoot photographs confidently, but having worked behind a computer monitor and my eyes affected by blue light, have made me less confident about shooting with a DSLR in low light situations.
Fortunately, I have the necessary hardware to take photos but I did things a little different in 2018, especially with lighting and I thank everyone for their patience.
Last but not least, remember that there are many more Obon Festivals still happening or will be happening for the next few weeks. If you want to know more about finding an Obon festival near you, please visit this website.
Here are a few photos and videos from this year’s event:
You can find more photos from the Fresno Obon Festival 2018 here.
