Ancient Rites and Sticky Heat: Memories of Japan in the Summertime

"Summer will always be the time to polish the graves of my ancestors, take a hot spring, change into the yukata, go to the shrine and dance."

by Jun Iwasaki

December 31, 2016, 6:00pm

This article is part of our VICE Weekends summer series, presented by Weis

Jun Iwasaki is an Auckland-based artist and independent publisher who was born and raised in Kyoto. This series of photographs, taken between 2011 and 2015, and his accompanying essay capture the significance of Jun's yearly travels home to take part in ancient traditions.

When you hear the word summer you may have images of the sea or sunny vacations, but this word has a different kind of power for me.

In Japan, summer is synonymous with festivals that honour the spirits of our ancestors. Since ancient times, summer has been the season to recognise the influence that those who have passed have on those in the present.

The Bon Festival is an opportunity for everyone to take a week-long vacation and for families to gather together. We give various offerings of gifts or foods to the souls of the ancestors, we make a fire on the mountain in the shape 大, and girls and boys converge to dance in the middle of the shrine of Bon Odori.

The grave of my ancestors is in Gifu prefecture. It is about five hours east of Kyoto and feels like the middle of nowhere. We always rode there by car as a family—I have memories of being small and my grandmother making a perfect little bento lunch box to keep me amused on the long journey. Once there, we spent time clearing the graves and leaving flowers, taking a hot spring, eating ayu fish from the purest, clearest river and staying at the Ryokan. I had a lot of fun on these yearly travels. It felt so natural at the time; so unthinkingly did I enjoy myself.

As the twin powers of time and distance have taken me further away from my roots and given me space to reflect, I now see the religious and historical significance of the summer festivals.

These photos help return me to those rituals and the memories from when I was lucky enough to spend summertime in Japan. It might not be the sandy beach vacation of the Antipodes, but the ancient rites and sticky heat have a way of working their magic on you.

To me, summer will always be the time to polish the graves of my ancestors, take a hot spring, change into the yukata, go to the shrine and dance, dance, dance all night.