Grave Visiting Day in Japan

There is an observance in Japan called Grave Visiting Day お墓参りの日 (Ohakamairi no Hi). It coincides with the Autumn Equinox, which this year is September 23rd. The Autumn Equinox is also the middle day of a week-long Autumn "higan", a period for honoring ancestors, with grave visiting as a key custom.

Higan and the Autumn Equinox have been honored for centuries, but 'Grave Visiting Day' is a modern anniversary, created by the Japan Stone Industry Association. They are an organization representing stone and monument related businesses across the country.

The purpose of the anniversary is to encourage people to maintain the long-standing tradition of visiting family graves and offering prayers to ancestors. I was actually at a temple today where people were bringing flowers to their ancestral graves, reflecting the deeply rooted aspect of Japanese culture that continues to bring families together through remembrance and reflection.