Bon Bon Girls & Aoyama-Sama Boys: A Centuries-Old Matsumoto Tradition

All across Japan summer festivals abound. Matsumoto is no exception as thousands of people take to the streets of downtown in early August for the loud and lively Matsumoto Bon-Bon. This festival got its start almost fifty years ago – and is no match for the original Bon Bon, a unique Matsumoto tradition born centuries ago. Coupled with the Aoyama-sama, a ceremonial procession of young boys carrying a miniature shrine through the streets of their neighborhood, the Bon Bon, an elegant and understated festival for young girls, offers a glimpse into a centuries-old Matsumoto tradition.

History

During the Edo Era, when the Shogun still ruled the country with military might, events like the Bon Bon could be witnessed all over Japan. From the cities of Kyoto and Tokyo to the quiet countryside, the young girls in the community would gather in colorful yukata, the light summer robes still worn at festivals today, and fill the air with singing as they walked in the cool of the evening. The songs and the details varied perhaps from place to place, but a common thread of youth and vibrancy permeated the summertime tradition. Today, that tradition lives on nowhere but in Matsumoto.

Bon Bon & Aoyama-Sama tradition japan — **Matsumoto Bon-bon Dancing Parade Festival**

Bon Bon Girls & Aoyama-Sama Boys

On any given day this time of year, as the heat of the afternoon gives way to the cool of the evening, you can find elementary school girls in yukata gathering, paper flowers in their hair and candle-lit torches in hand. They talk and giggle and play as their mothers try to keep them from becoming disheveled, until the time comes to line up in a colorful row and begin walking and singing the Bon Bon song.

Bon Bon & Aoyama-Sama Festival Matsumoto — **Bon Bon, a unique Matsumoto tradition born centuries ago**

The Matsumoto Bon Bon Festival is held just before Japan’s revered O-Bon season, when families gather in their hometowns to welcome the annual return of their deceased ancestors. As such, the Bon Bon is a relatively quiet affair – and the song the girls sing is of a melancholy nature, lyrics of the blossoming and wilting of flowers referring to the happiness and sadness of the seasons of life.

Meanwhile the elementary school age boys of the community walk in a procession through the streets carrying a miniature shrine called a mikoshi, decorated with leaves and branches of a Japanese hinoki cypress tree. Called Aoyama-Sama, translated as “Blue Mountains” and referring, it is said, to an ancient shrine, this group of boys call out to the other people of the community by yelling “Washoi, korasho!” while collecting donations for their shrine and their efforts.

Bon Bon & Aoyama-Sama Dancing Parade — **The tradition lives on nowhere but in Matsumoto**

The Tradition Continues

When the Bon Bon began back in the Edo Era it was only seen in the Honmachi, Nakamachi, and Higashimachi areas of the castle town. Today the tradition has spread out to all parts of Matsumoto. In 1985, concerned with the survival of this special part of the Matsumoto summer, citizens of the town organized an effort to renew interest and participation in the Bon Bon. If you happen to catch a glimpse of the Bon Bon girls or the Aoyama-Sama boys, you’ll see that this centuries-old tradition is alive and well.