https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/07/10/photos-obon-festival-returns-to-san-joses-japantown/ > Obon — a Japanese Buddhist festival that honors the dead — is one of the city’s longest-running cultural events, dating back certainly to the post-World War II period and probably back to the 1930s. And while San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin has kept the community engaged with Obon@Home festivals the past two years, it feels great to have the real thing back again — even if it is somewhat scaled back as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. > The two-day “Back to Obon” festival included taiko groups from Stanford and UC-Berkeley. Entertainment continued throughout the day, including San Jose Taiko performances both days, and culminated each evening with the Obon Odori dance.