Vegetables become vehiclesSourced
Obon turns cucumbers and eggplants into animals
Some Japanese Obon customs use a cucumber horse and an eggplant cow as symbolic vehicles for ancestors coming home and returning. Familiar kitchen vegetables become decorations for welcoming family spirits. Practices vary between regions and households.
An everyday shape can carry a family’s remembrance.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Obon · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-10