Japanese · No. 093

Obon Lantern Festival

Real myth

Obon Lantern Festival
One night a year, spirits come home and grow stronger.
Rarity
Common
Category
Spell
Effect
Your Spirit monsters gain +500 ATK and DEF.

The myth

Obon, or Bon, is the summer period when, according to Japanese Buddhist tradition, the spirits of the ancestors return to visit their families. Households light welcoming fires, mukaebi, set up altars with fruit and food and visit the graves. On the festival nights the whole village dances the bon-odori in a ring. At the end, farewell fires, okuribi, and lanterns set adrift on rivers or the sea, tōrō nagashi, guide the souls back. Lafcadio Hearn described with feeling the bon-odori of an Izumo village in 1890. Obon remains one of Japan's most important holidays.

Why it has this power

A Common spell that gives all your Spirit monsters +500 ATK and DEF. It is the night when souls come home and are remembered, and in MYTHENOR to be remembered is to be alive. Kodama, Zashiki-warashi, Yuki-onna, Nurarihyon and the archipelago's other spirits draw strength from that remembrance.

Did you know

In Kyoto, Obon ends with the Gozan no Okuribi, when huge fiery characters are lit on the mountainsides around the city.

Connections

  • In Aiko, Dojo Apprentice's deck
  • In Hanae, Wandering Miko's deck
  • In Renji, Ronin of the Snowy Roads's deck

Where to get it

  • Daily Offering: 0% per pack (Common 64% per card)
  • Welcome Pack: 0.97% per pack (Common 70% per card)
  • Traveler's Pack: 0.88% per pack · 5.2% in the themed pack (Common 64% per card)
  • Bronze Reliquary: 0.86% per pack · 5.1% in the themed pack (Common 62% per card)
  • Silver Reliquary: 0.67% per pack · 4% in the themed pack (Common 49% per card)
  • Golden Reliquary: 0.46% per pack · 2.7% in the themed pack (Common 33% per card)
  • Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.69% of days · 150 gold
  • Craft with card dust: 40 dust
  • Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

  1. Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan: First Series (Project Gutenberg) — Lafcadio Hearn
  2. Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan: Second Series (Project Gutenberg) — Lafcadio Hearn
  3. Sorei — Encyclopedia of Shinto — Kokugakuin University