The Chinese Yue Lan Ghost Festival in Japan - A Kobe Case Study PDF

Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
THE CHINESE "YUE LAN" GHOST FESTIVAL IN JAPAN: A KOBE CASE STUDY, AUG. 31 —
SEPT. 4, 1982
Author(s): Choi Chi-cheung
Source: Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 24 (1984), pp.
230-263
Published by: Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23902775
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230
THE CHINESE "YUE LAN" GHOST FESTIVAL

IN JAPAN: A KOBE CASE STUDY,
AUG. 31—SEPT. 4,1982*
Choi Chi-cheung
Kobe is one of the three places in Japan where the Chinese hold
a community-wide celebration for the “Yue Lan" festival.1 Ac
cording to 1974 statistics, there were 8585 Chinese living in Hyogo
prefecture of which Kobe is the capital. About 82% of them lived
in Kobe.2 Although only 11% of the Chinese living in Hyogo are
Hokkienese, yet the Hokkienese Association has been in charge of
the festival since the end of the Second World War. The festival I
am describing here took place at the Kobe Kwan-ti Temple
(關帝廟）.
I. 丁he Location
The festival area can mainly be divided into four parts:3
1)The Tao-ch'ang (道場）area，where the priests performed

most of the rituals (this used the building normally the offices
of the Association).
2) The Ming-che (冥宅）area. (Min-taku in Japanese meaning

House of the underworld) (this used the temple courtyard,
with a temporary tented roof).
3) The Temple area.
4) The Association Hall and the Kitchen area(s).
All rituals took place at these places except the Lantern Floating
ritual which took place at the sea-shore half an hour's ride from
the temple by mini-bus. In addition, there was 狂 screen between
the temple and the Tao-ch'ang where Chinese movies were shown
for three nights.
• Unless specifically stated, all explanations of the rituals during the festival are as
given by the participants. See Plates 15-32.
231
During the whole festival period, the main temple was the most
neglected area, whilst the Ming-che area was always crowded with
worshippers. Free vegetarian food was offered by the committee
in the Assocation Hall for the whole period. The Association Hall
and a room of the office of the Temple were used as temporary
kitchens for preparing food and offerings.
Worshippers seldom went to the main temple except for pre

senting incense sticks. Even though the Tao-ch'ang area was more
spacious and was air-conditioned, worshippers seldom stayed
long in the Tao-ch'ang area except on the last night, for the “Great
Offering’’ ceremony. Worshippers seldom visited the Association
Hall either except when they were giving donations or having their
daily meals. The Ming-che area was the only place which was
always crowded. There were people chatting, exchanging greet
ings, admiring and criticising every Ming-che (paper-made
houses), folding paper-money and playing musical instruments
and singing.4
The Tao-ch'ang area5 was seen as the most dangerous and

frightening place for the worshippers because it was believed to be
full of the hungry ghosts who came for the offerings. The Associa
tion Hall and the kitchens belonged to the hosts, the Hokkienese,
Worshippers went first to the Tao-ch'ang area to offer foods to the
spirits, and then to the Association Hall to accept meals from the
hosts. In general, worshippers felt attracted to the Ming-che area
because, while it was the area of their ancestors, yet the ancestors
there were not frightening. The Ming-che area gave the worship
pers the opportunity to be at the same time closer to their ances
tors, and to build up relationships with other Chinese who lived
far away. Non-Hokkienese worshippers seemed to avoid the Asso
ciation Hall because of ethnic differences, and this brought them
even closer to the Ming-che area. During the whole event, only
‘Ancestor Worship' was emphasised by the worshippers.
II. The Festival
According to the figure-maker (Tze-shi 紙師）Mr. Lin Yau

Chie (73 years old, Hokkienese), the preparation for each year's
'Yue Lan5 starts from the end of the previous event. In other
232 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
words, he starts to accept orders for makin

middle of the 7th moon. However, not unt
year is any actual work done. The Associa
mittee for the ‘Yue Lan，festival during th
Festival (15th of the 1st moon), and se
(Yuan Bu 緣部）are sent out to different p
donations from the Chinese. At about the
2nd moon), Mr. Lin starts to make figure
=paper-made houses for the gods and ance
paper-made hills,7 direction flags, and oth
figures are completed a month before the
priest is invited to open the eyes (Kai
開眼）of the paper-made figures, and the
temple and the Tao-ch'ang. On the same d
tern of Heaven' (Chie T'ien Dan 揭天燈）ri
all the spirits to the festival. The committee
invitation letters to the Chinese in Japan.8
The festival lasted 4 nights and 5 days fr

(from 13th to 17th of the 7th moon), 1982
notice, the rituals included: (i) a daily mor
ritual, (ii) praying for the reincarnation of th
and afternoon, (in; reporting to Heaven
offering to the hungry ghosts at night, an
ceremony in the afternoon of Sept. 2.10 Ta
that the scheduled time-table was not stric
ple, on the last morning of the festival, t
formed to thank the gods of the Temple, t
offer to the ghosts which were supposed to
instead of the previously advertised “prayi
From my observation, it appeared that

'Morning Lessons' (Morning ritual and pra
and, except for the rituals for reporting
floating ceremony and the last ‘Great Offerin
ten persons who attended from start to fi
for reporting to the Heaven, the three ritu
and the lantern floating ceremony, all oth
the 'Tao Ch'ang' area.
233
Table 1.Time Table
Date Time Announced

Announced Programme
Programme Time Observed Programme
Aug. 31 15:00 Inviting the gods

20:00-20:45 night
nightritual
ritual
22:00
22:00 pre-ofîering
pre-offering B'JHリ夜施餓鬼 22:00-22:40 pre-offering
pre-offering
Sept.11
Sept. 7:00 morning
morning lesson
lesson and
and 7:00- 7:20 morning
morning ritual1
ritual 1
Kaiko*朝課回向
Kaiko* #1^00 10:00-10:30 morning
morning ritual
ritual 22
15:00 afternoon Kaiko下午回肉
afternoon Kaiko T ^ HI 0 15:00-15:50 ritual and
and prayer
prayer for
for
and
and Reporting
Reporting出天進表 reincarnation
15:50-16:10 Reporting
18:00
18:00 night
nightlesson
lesson
andand 20:00-20:45 night ritual
repentance晚課拜傲
repentance BUS^fjg 20:00-22:00 movie
movie
22:00 the great
the greatoffering
offering 大施餓鬼 10:10-11:00 the great
great offering
offering
Sept. 2 7:00 morning
morning lesson
lesson and
and 7:00- 7:20 morning ritual1
ritual 1
kaiko朝課回向
kaiko 101$ 00 10:00-；0;25
10:00-J 0:25 morning ritual 2
15:00
15:00 afternoonkaiko,下午回向
afternoon kaiko, T"^00 15:00-16:15
15:00-16:15 lantern
lanternfloating
floating
Reporting
Reportingand
and出天進表 16:20-16:40 Reporting
lantern floatinggjfgggJL
lantern floating 燈龠流几
18:00
18:00 night
nightlesson
lesson
andand 20:00-20.45 night ordinance
night ordinanceand
and
repentance晚課拜懺
repentance repentance
repentance
20:00-22:00 movie
22:00
22:00 thegreat
the great offering
offering 大施餓鬼% 22:10-23:00
22:10-23:00 the great
the greatoffering
offering
Sept 3 7:00 morning lesson and 7:00- 7:20 moring
moring ritual1
ritual 1
kaiko朝課回向
kaiko 10:00-10:20
10:00-10:20 morning
morningritual 2 2
ritual
15:00
15:00 afternoon
afternoon kaiko
kaiko andand Reporting
Reporting 14:30-15:00 afternoonreincarnation
afternoon reincarnation
T^F0|b] -
下午回向、出天進表 15:00-15:15 Reporting
Reporting
18:00
18:00 night
nightlesson
lesson
andand 20:00-21:00
20:00-21:00 night
nightrepentance
repentance
repentance晚課拜懺
repentance 20:00-21:45
20:00-21:45 movie
22:00 the
the great
greatoffering
offering 大施餓鬼 22:00-23:55
22:00-23:55 the
the great
great offering
offering
Sept. 4 0:00- 0:40 Burning
7:00
7:00 Late Kaiko後回向
Kaiko f^0 0 10:50-11:05 Thank the
the Temple
Temple Gods
Gods
11:10-11:15 Thank Heaven
11:20-11:25 Offering
Offeringtotothe
the
late
late
and
and handicapped
handicappedghosts.
ghosts.
15:00 Feast.
Feast.
• = in Japanese，means reincarnation through praying
+ = the prayer book for the offerings is 瑜伽缺ロ科範 ’ for the ritual and
reincarnation it is仙說八十八名經
According to the priests, the morning and night rituals are their
normal daily rituals in the temple (禪林課誦），only the
'Offering', the 'Reporting', the ‘Lantern Floating’, and the three
rituals on the last day were performed specially for the Festival.
During the night rituals, after reciting charms and presenting in
cense sticks to the altar of Heaven-and-Earth (T'ien Di T'an
天地壇），all the priests, except one who kept on striking a drum
in the Tao Ch'ang area, walked through the whole festival area. At
the same time, the main priest bowed to every object of worship.11
After returning to the Tao Ch'ang area and purifying a small dish
234 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
of water (Kan Lu 甘露），the chief priest

priest on his right hand side who then use
sprinkle water as he walked through the fe
routes 1 and 2 in the plan of the Festival A
this article.) The participating worshipper
walking ritual as one to show respect to th
later one as a kind of offering and purifica
The ‘Reporting’ ritual,12 which took place

and entrance C started with the throwin
(Man-Juu in Japanese, a kind of bread 饅頭
those attending. It created a lot of exciteme
ing as well as the priests. Then the chief pr
on â table，read a Pang13 (a name list =榜，
was burnt on the last night) of 165 names
(使馬，a paper-made figure riding on a pap
supposed messenger to Heaven, was burnt w
incense sticks. The ‘messenger’ was to repor
place was now holding a festival for (a) all
during the World Wars, (b) the Ancestors o
all wandering spirits. It was hoped that thr
ienng (Gong De =功德），the worshipppers
happiness and good luck.15
At about 3 p.m. on Sept. 2, a bus took fif

mittee members (including 3 females,1 boy
and six priests to the Shumanoura (須磨浦
Hyogo Prefecture.16 There 21lotus lantern
each with a burning candle inside, were sen
same time two women put 60 sets of 3 sma
sets of 3 middle-sized incense sticks into the s
chanted facing the sea. After that the comm
vegetarian iood around the site. The whole r
utes. The ritual, according to the Japane
off the ghosts and the ancestors, and som
said that it was to send off the orphan
無杞鬼=Muenbutsu 無緣仙 in Japanese, m
have no worshippers).18
During the night offerings,19 the chief p
235
hand-gestures implying that he was going to replace the ghosts

who were suffering in Hell.20 After that, he threw six Man Taus as
if he was offering millions of bread to the hungry ghosts who had
been released from Hell. All the three representative worshippers
of the committee, each holding a small incense stick, attended
each night offering ritual. During the last ‘Offering’，the Tao
Ch'ang area was crowded with worshippers who were mainly fam
ily members and relatives of the ‘Newly Dead'. Everyone attend
ing the last ‘Offering’ held a small incense stick. According to the
informants the ‘Last Offering', different from the other offerings,
was especially for the ancestors of the worshippers.21 After the
ritual, all the paper-made figures, Chos, and Ming-ches were burnt
with paper-made gold and silver hills, bundles of paper money
and fire crackers. As each Ming-che was burning, the family mem
bers and the relatives of the 'Newly Dead’ bowed down to send if
off. For most of the worshippers, the festival had now ended and
only the committee members attended the rituals held on the last
morning.
On the last day, there was a ritual to (i) thank the temple god,
Kwan-ti, (ii) thaijc Heaven, and (iii) give offerings to those handi
capped ghosts who were supposed to have come late. For the first
time in the whole festival meat was presented at this ritual.22 The
festival ended with the priests' departure after the rituals. The
Association held a feast in the afternoon of the last day to celebrate
the successful completion of the festival.
III. Composition of the Participants
Four categories of the participants should be specially men

tioned. They are: (a) the priests, (b) the common worshippers, (c)
the families of the “Newly Dead," and (d) the committee mem
bers and workers.
A team of nine priests, including eight monks and one nun,

were employed from the Huang Po (黃漿=Obakku in Japa
nese) Buddhist sect from the Wan Fu temple (萬福寺=
Manfukuji in Japanese) in Uji (宇治），Kyoto.23 Although (as at
least two informants told me) in the past the priests in this temple
were mainly Chinese they are now all Japanese. They used to have
236 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
twelve to fifteen priests but according to

because of economic reasons, they decreas
priests. They started to have a nun join th
ever, she makes no difference for the comm
was no special interaction between the com
the priests. Even in the rituals relating to
except the Japanese wife of a “Newly Dead
priest to chant before the Ming-che. In place
keeper (Chu-tzi 住持），a Chinese man fro
was employed by the families of the ‘Newl
each Ming-che. The purpose of this ritual w
ly Dead' that the family will send (burn
(Ming-che) to the underworld and now the
'Contract' of the house, and with the ‘Con
can get the house after it has been sent.24 Th
performed all the official rituals were resp
worshippers who kept their distance from
The common worshippers came from var

Most of the informants claimed that ther
anybody could come to worship. There was
origins and residential places of the wor
least one man, a Hokkienese who is son-in-
the festival, came from Gunma Prefecture
from Yokohama; a group of Hokkienese cam
came to worship a 'Newly Dead' who helpe
Japan â few years ago); 2 related families
from Osaka (2 are Hokkienese, the 3rd one
in 1981, he was a Taoist from Peking); and
from Kyoto (he was in charge of the Chines
Kyoto). As shown in table 2, the number of
ing 1000 yen or more numbered 708.
However, if the tablets of the ancestors ar

for family participation the number of
should be more than the figure shown. Th
ments into several economically and re
households, the households always worship
tor-tablet as a religious family.25 One info
tonese) told me that he had 7 siblings, the
237
Table 2. Income of the Festival
Title
Title
(Yuan Shau)
(Yuan Shau)緣首
jit# A B Contribution (yen) Total (yen)
Special 1 1 150,000 150,000
Principal 1 1 110,000 110,000
Vice
Vice 12 12 100,000 1,200,000
Tu
ru 151 16 50,000 800,000
26 30,000 780,000
37 20,000 740,000
92 10,000 920,000
112 5,000 560,000
40 3,000 120,000
1 2,500 2,500
108 2,000 216,000
1 1,500 1,500
96 1,000 96,000
Total 165 543 5,696,000
A = number of names listed in the Yellow-book

B = number of names listed on a red paper pasted on the wall
• note: Informants said that A was the P'ang (榜)and B was Kifb(寄付=Jap
anese term means donation)
# The A class Ming-che was 470,000 yen, B class was 350,000, and C class was
200,000. Xll
In «tuutuuil,
addition,リ1each
UUC of the Gold,
VJV1U, au▼。夏’silver, cloth, and UAU。、巫
W リ Ul,OUU、ベ”U coin hillsm(金山、銀山、
‘ m
衣山、錢山）was 25,000
、錢山）was 25,000 yen. yen.
In the case In the
of Kyoto, casewere:
the prices of Kyoto, the prices were
a) gold or silver
hills (金山銀山)：5,OCX) yen, b) rice (橋)：3,000 i food
yen, c)10 kinds of
(十品菜；3,000 yen, d) Gold or silver (paper
yen, money)(金銀
e) paper-made gold bar (元寶）：700 yen, f) Japanese type incense sticks (線香）：
800 yen, g) paper money《錢 ^ ): 200 yen, small candle (one) (ローソク一ネ：):200
yen, h) Chinese incese sticks (貢香）：500 yen.
CS) Moreover there were 266 paper tablets presented in the ‘Anc
tablet costing 3,500 yen. Thus, the total income from the tablets w
Second World War, he and three of his brothers ma

separately but they have only one Cho^sin-pai-lau
Cantonese = altar of the ancestor) in his mother's h
the festival the family presented only one paper tab
mittee member told me that all Chinese ethnic gro
Kobe came to the festival but those who came from
tures were mostly Hokkienese. There were three gr
Kobe worshippers:
i) They were Hokkienese or they had affinal r

with the Hokkienese in Kobe. For example the
238 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
Gunma Prefecture and the Shikoku

above.
ii) When they or their parents first emigrated to Japan they

first stopped at Kobe. Some of them even chose the Kobe
Chinese Cemetary as their final resting place (see below).
iii) They have a special relationship with the ‘Newly Dead'

and/or a family with a ‘Newly Dead' (see case IV below).
By the time of the festival there were a total of 13 ‘Newly
Deads' (Shinn-bon 新盆 or Hattsu-bon 初盆 in Japa
nese), four of them did not live in Kobe: (Table 3).
Case I: Hokkienese who lived in Himeji, brother of Case

VI who lived in Kobe.
Case II: Hokkienese who lived in Yokohama. He lived in

Kobe for five years when he first came to Japan. Before he
died, he chose to be buried in Kobe.
Case IV: Cantonese who lived in Yokohama. She was a

house servant and her boss was also a Cantonese. She did
not marry and had no family. However, she had relatives
living in Kobe. She was buried in Kobe.
Case IX: Cantonese from Yokohama. His wife, a Canton

ese, was born and lived in Kobe before she married. She
called herself a Kobe woman (神戶人）and her husband
a Yokohama man (橫濱人）•
Some of the Cantonese told me that in the past the Cantonese

were in charge of the festival. The reason they passed the charge of
the festival into the hands of the Hokkienese is because the latter
are more cooperative and consolidated, and, nowadays only the
Hokkienese know how to make paper figures and the Ming-che.26
However, during the festival, the Cantonese paid more attention
to the religious activities, but the Hokkienese were more active in
social functions.
The committee was made up of voluntary Hokkienese, and
239
several employed Japanese workers.27 The committee members

were chosen from the Hokkienese Association. It is said that the
head of the Association represents all the Chinese (in Japan) by
‘leading’ them in the festival.28
The role of the Hokkienese is significant. It is said that only the

Hokkienese represent and lead all the Chinese to serve the gods
and to offer to the ghosts. The name list presented to Heaven had
only the names of the Hokkienese, and the three representative
worshippers of the daily rituals were all Hokkienese; moreover,
only the Hokkienese attended the Lantern Floating ritual.
IV. The Objects of Worship
According to the committee members, the festival has no rela

tionship with the gods of the temple. The reason it took place there
was because there was space there. However, during the night
rituals and the prayers for reincarnation the priests had to walk
through the whole festival area and the chief priest had to bow to
every altar and statue including those in the main temple. The
purification ritual also included the main temple. On the last day,
the committee thanked the gods of the temple with a half-cooked
pig (Pai-chuu 白豬），raw meat, fish, and 10 bowls of vegetarian
food. Moreover, during the festival, worshippers never forgot to
present incense sticks to the temple gods, and the committee of
fered five cups of tea, five cups of wine and ten bowls of vegetarian
food to the temple gods twice a day. The same treatment was given
to the Japanese Earthgod (Chizo 地藏）• Although every statue,
Chinese or Japanese, Buddhist or Taoist, within the festival area
was not regarded as related to the festival they were treated equally
by the worshippers and the committee members alike.
There were thirteen Ming-ches for the ‘Newly Dead' and a Cho
(written as "Ancestral Hall of the Chinese in Japan’’旅日華僑名
姓宗祠）29 for the ancestor tablets of the families who donated
money, in the Ming-che area. There were a total of266 tablets. The
tablets in the "Ancestral Hall” were different from the Ming-che
which is for the ‘Newly Dead’，and included the ancestors of all
generations of the family. Every Ming-che had a photo and a
board with the surname of the dead.30 Plenty of paper money was
240 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
burnt and vegetarian food was offered by ma
At the entrance of the Tao Ch'ang314 not

and land cross-over is at this Tao Ch'an
separating the Tao Ch'ang area from the o
area there were 39 worshipping objects. Th
areas to the Tao Ch'ang: i) On one side of t
the territorial gods of the human world, a
the entrance, there was a god who holds
tween earth and hell (two of his runners w
main hall there were tablets of different spir
to come from the ten courts of the underw
Taoist Saints. Two Generals were put in th
watch over the spirits, iii) At the back of
(壇 or Hoza 法座 in Japanese) where the
rituals under the images of the 3 Buddh
Mercy. Compared with the typical Buddhis
als for appeasing the dead,32 the Tao Ch
Chinese 'Yue Lan' was more inclusive and closer to Chinese folk
tradition though the priests were all Buddhists.
There were 7 types of objects worshipped (Table in the Appen

dix):
i) Those represented by incense bowls and offerings only.

ii) Paper-made figures.
iii) Paper-made lanterns.
iv) Porcelain statues.
v) Paper-made houses.
vi) Paper-made tablets.
vii) Paintings.
Not all worshippers knew the names and roles of all the objects
worshipped. During the festival, worshippers presented incense
sticks to all the objects of worship in the festival area. However,
besides the Ming-che and the "Ancestral Hall’’ the two runners
attracted the most attention from the worshippers. Worshippers
bribed them with bundles of paper money. One Cantonese lady of
about 75 years old explained that by doing so it was hoped that the
runners “would take care of our ancestors whose spirits are com
241
ing here and not give them trouble’’. According to the introduc
tion in the Pang (see Appendix), as posted up at the main en
trance,33 the festival was held for the purpose of assisting the
reincarnation of i) the soldiers who died during the world wars,
ii) the ancestors of all surnames, and iii) the ghosts who were
not worshipped by anyone. And it was hoped that through the
mediation of the priests, the Three Buddhas and all the spirits
would give their permission and open the door for them to cross
over and become human beings again. However, the worshippers,
being more interested in self-prosperity, were more concerned
about their own ancestors who are the only ones who can guaran
tee their prosperity.
V. Conclusion: History of the Festival in Kobe
According to an appeal to the Hyogo Government in 1873, the

Ningpo merchants were the first to hold a Ghost Festival for the
Chinese in Kobe.34 Mr. Chan (70 years old, Cantonese, born and
educated in Kobe, now vice-president of the History Museum of
the Kobe Chinese) told me that before the Second World War, the
festival was organized by the Cantonese who then out-numbered
the Hokkienese. The Cantonese were wealthier and 'had more
knowledge'. Mr. Chan continued to tell me that during that time
the Hokkienese were relatively poor. They were mostly travelling
merchants (行腳商）• They therefore had no stable residential
place neither were they economically strong enough to be the orga
nizers of the festival. Though there was a bachelor-centre for about
17 Hokkienese laborers in Nagoya about 30 years ago, there was
no Hokkienese cluster in Kobe. Today, however all the three Chi
nese Ghost Festivals in Japan are organised by the Hokkienese35.
Mr. Chan's narration agrees with the information given by Li Ta
shen.36 The Hokkienese, now organisers of the Festival, had never
been an influential group until the end of the Second World War.
However, since then, until 1978, the Hokkienese were said to be
the centre of the Kobe festival.37
Due to the anti-Chinese incident in Kobe in 1976, the Chinese

started to pursue unification among all the different Chinese terri
torial groups, and to disregard their origins. In 1978, the Kobe
Chinese News (神戶華僑報）was changed to the Kansai Chi
242 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
nese News (關西華僑報);reports about the Gh

Kobe no longer emphasised the role of the Hokk
secondary identification (identity of being a C
being a resident in Kobe) instead of the primar
(identity of blood relation and/or of origins) b
idea of tiiie Festival. Thus the Festival is more in
Festival, though including all elements of the sec
as the sacred world, stressed only ancestor-wor
ancestor worship supercedes the boundaries of a
and categories, eases the tension of group comp
Chinese, and connects all social groupings and ca
worshipping group which is based primarily on
the worshippers with Kobe, and secondarily on
identity as Chinese.
NOTES:
The original meaning of ‘Yue Lan，is "hanging upside down" (of the hungry
ghost in Hell). However, during the festival, participants used terms like: Obon
(扒盆，Japanese term for the festival), Chung Yuan (中元，middle of the year,
which is a term mainly used by the taoists for the same event), and/or Kuai Chie
(鬼節，glôst festival). Some Cantonese even called it a Chiao (醮）(simply mean
ing a festival dedicated to the Gods). Moreover, the documents used during the
festival spoke of it as ‘Pu Tu’（普渡），meaning general offering and place where
spirits can cross over to this woiid, e.g. the papers that hung over the entrance of
the Tao Ch'ang (entrance A) wrote ‘The water and earth Pu Tu is held in this Tao
Ch'ang'(水陸普度在此道場），at the entrance B, it was written ‘the Great Occa
sion ofPu Tu'(普度勝會），the invitation card wrote ‘the great meeting of Pu Tu，
(普度大會）,and the same term was also used in the P'ang.
See Kobe Kakyou Ho (神戶華橋報）,no. 71,1976.3.10. In 1974, there were
46944 \ Chinese
Chinese in in Japan.
Japan. 8: 8585 of them lived in Hyogo Prefecture of which 7071
；concentrated in Kobe city. The distribution of the origins of the Chinese in
Hyogo Prefecture was as follow: Taiwan (41%), Cantonese (21%), Hokkien (11%),
Kiangsu
Qgsu (11%), Shantong (5%), Chekiang (4%), others (7%).
3
See plan at the Appendix to this paper, and Plate 15.
5 Plates 17,18,19.
6 Sometimes informants called the paper-made houses ‘Cho’（厝）without distin
guishing between the house for the ‘Newly Dead’，and that for the gods. Here,
Ming-che is used for the house of the ‘Newly Dead’, and Cho for that of the gods.
7 Plate 20.
243
The content of the invitation card is: “The overseas Chinese in Japan will hold a
3-days-4-nights Pu Tu, for the sake of establishing luck by offering and helping all
the imprisoned spirits of the water and the earth. The meeting will take place at the
Kwan Ti Temple in Kobe city. Please come to the "Tan"(壇 altar) to present
incense sticks during the 14th,15th, and 16th of the 7 th moon.(1 st, 2nd and 3rd of
September 1982).’’ The card was red in colour.
9 The 13th day and the 17th day of the 7th moon were not mentioned in the
invitation card.
10 The Lantern Floating ritual in Japanese is To Ro Nagashi’，which means to

float lanterns(s) (to the sea). During the Japanese Obon, lanterns are sent off on the
last day of the festival. Through this, the ghosts and the ancestors are all sent back.
During the Kobe festival, the ritual, according to the committee members, was to
send off the "wandering ghosts or those who are not worshipped by anyone (= Mu
Zhi Kuai 無祀鬼）”.However it seems confusing because after the floating ritual,
they continued to give offering to the hungry ghosts as well as to the ancestors for
two more nights, and the tablets of the wandering spirits were still inside the Tao
Ch'ang. A similar ritual practised in Hong Kong during the Chiao festival is called
‘Fong Shui Dang’ (放ぺ燈，sending off the water lanterns), which is parallel with
the ‘Fong Luk Dang'(放陸燈，put on the street lights) ritual. The rituals are to
invite all the water and earth spirits to attend the offering during the Pu Tu or ‘Sai
Tai Yau’ (祭大幽 ’ to worship the numerous spirits) of the Chiao festival). The
prayer book the Obaku Buddhists used for their morning and night rituals is
"Obaku Zenlin Choobo Kashoo"(黃檗禪林朝暮課誦）.The priests called this
daily work "Zenlin Kashoo"(禪;課誦）•
11 See below.
12 Plate 21.
13 Plates 22, 23.
14 The ‘Pan号’ was a book-form name-list in yellow. It had 8 pages with an introduc
tion explaining the reason for holding a Pu Tu. (The introduction is printed in the
Appendix).
15 See the introduction to the Pang printed in the Appendix.
里6 The beach is at the western and of the Prefecture.
17 Plate 24.
18 See footnote 10.
19 Plate 25.
20 The book used for the ritual was "Yoga Enkoo Kahan"(瑜伽缺晰範）which is
similar to that used in Hong Kong during the ‘Sai Tai Yau, ritual. According to an
old taoist in Hong Kong, Mr. Lam Pui (林培),the gesture is called "Poh Yuk"
(破獄，to break Hell), and through this the ghosts are released and able to come for
reincarnation and cross over.
21 Plates 26, 27, 28.
22 No meat was allowed in the festival area. However, meat was presented at the
Ming-che VII. One informant explained that it was because the dead like meat, and
one committee member sighed and told me that “We have no way, because they
are from the other Provinces (of China)(外省人）”.
23 The sect started from Monk Yin Yuan (■元）of (福淸),Hokkien. He
was invited by the General of the Tokugawa Bankufii(德川幕府）in 1654. In the
244 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
Spring of 1662 the General gave him land in Uji to

Hsien Chih Shu lie"(福淸縣志續略）vol.12, p.14
24 See a copy of the contract for a house in the unde
article.
25 Kulp, D.H., Country Life in South China, pp. 145-148.

26 The Figure-maker of the Kyoto Chinese Ghost Festival is, however, a Japanese.
27 Several Japanese worked in the Kitchen, and two took care of the incense inside
the Tao Ch'ang and other odd jobs like carrying things to burn etc.
28 See the document printed in the Appendix from the introduction to the Pang.
29 Plate 29.
30 For the tablet in the "Ancestral Hall" see the drawing in the Appendix to this
article. For the Ming-che see Plate 30.
31 Plate 31.
32 As shown, for instance in 瑜伽缺ロ科範
33 Plate 32.
34 See letter printed in the Appendix.

35 Personal interview, Oct.13,1982.
36 According to Li, in 1878, 357 Chinese lived in Kobe, 223 of them from
Kwangtong and Kwangsi (Liang Kwang 兩廣）;84 from Kiangsu, Chekiang, and
Anhnai (Sankiang 三江）;and 50 from Hokkien. See Li Ta-shen (李達生）,Shen
hu Ta-ban di Hau-chiao (神戶和大阪的華借),May 15,1943 (in the collection of
the History Museum of the Kobe Chinese). Refer also to So Shi-sai (曾士才），
Fuku Sei no Pooru Unn (福淸のポ一ルラニ），p.12 ff. (unpublished thesis)
1982.
Kobe Chinese News (神戶華情報），Sept.10,1977. Kansai Chinese News

關西華僑報）,Au& 25,1978; Sept. 25 1979; Sept.1,1981; Oct.1,1982. Until
1978, it was reported that the worshippers were mainly Hokkienese. But, from
1979 it was changed to "Chinese worshippers from various places of Japan".
38 On the one hand, the festival adopted elements that belong to the Japanese, such
as: the interpretation of the ritual of Lantern Floating, the Japanese being the
mediators, and Japanese was the medium for interdialect group communication.
On the other hand, if compared with the Ghost Festival in Uji, Kyoto, the latter is a
purely Hokkienese festival. The organizers were Hokkienese, and so were the
worsMppers. Moreover, the Hokkienese themselves, not the Japanese priests per
formed àie Reporting ritual at the Kyoto festival; there, Hokkienese, not Japanese,
was the language for communication. Because of the primary identification or
origins, the festival in Kyoto serves more social functions that do not appear in the
Kobe festival, e.g. entan (緣族 to talk and arrange for marriage). The Ghost Festi
val in Kyoto is thus one of the 3 main yearly gatherings of the Hokkienese in Japan.
245
Appendix
(A) Plan of Festival Area
K* t* j
^ f 4l fir 1|. ^ * 1
J
!!
;i.^-K V. * '' / a '< * \
: T* -; <* <
^ \<y -\
!« AjS^ «- • v " \ j
i ^ <-r->x •■ ?
= .';' " - r
■a* | \
rj t:
It .r if i. I, • >j „ nr
;: « *
so I
"_c
If'
* jt
rFE
_h v- V'-; "L
-:• a a a n x ■, \ ^
^ *■" '•! .
^ : :^-r-:'-:r_.r..y , g
Ili- ! Ming-che area X". |J?|
:' • . zul ■
-J* t «t *
K.J ^
-i C fr
I |
"ssocintion '
Kail '
1-58 = worshipping objects (see table A
I-XIII = Ming-che (see table B)
XIV = paper-made ancestralj hall
A-C = entrance
* = place for burning paper money etc.
# = place for burning the figures
246 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
Table A. Name of the Objects of Wors
1. A Nan Chun Che Hit Q

2. Buddha Q
3. Chia Yeh Chun Che Q
4. Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy f la1 R
5.
Dragon Kings of the 4 Seas EJiSftEET
6. Representative of the Heavenly
Kitchen T
7. Chin Kwong Wang ÎffEE H
8. Cho Kiang Wang gjiiEE H
9. Sung Ti Wang £#EE H
10. Wu Kwan Wang FLU" EE H
11. Yen Lo Wang |£| gH H
12. Bien Chen Wang Ei$3E H
13. Thai Shan Wang H
14. Tu Shi Wang f&Tfti H
15. Pin Deng Wang AEflE H
16. Chuen Lun Wang fffÊE H
17-18. The Courts of extreme H
happiness 18, were all made in one paper
made house (informants simply
class them as Ming-che too) re
spectively.
19. Kan Tsai Wang fg-SfEE F Both 19 and 20 were
20. Wai Lo UM F regarded as the guardians of the
festival. 19 for avoiding any
meat, and 20 for keeping out
evil and watching over the spir
its.
21. ? Q No one knew what it was
22. The Great Kings and Emperors
T
23. The Lord of Pu-tu Hi/tfi- T
24. Ancestral Hall of all Lineages
T
25. 6 paths and 4 species ±it0£ T
26. Wandering spirits of 4 directions T
27. The 3 Pure Ones Hi# P

28. Gods of the 3 levels Hff-#c# T
29. ? Q No one knew what it was
30. Male and female orphan spirits T
31. 3 religions and 9 schools Httfiiil T

32. Million souls of the 3 Q Told by the organ
levels HI?- S 8 festival. It was also called Tien
Ti Tan ( gift if. ).
33. Office of the Yin and Yang H
34. Lord 8th A|jj F Both 34 and 35 were the
35. Lord 7th -Lift F runners of Hell.
36. Temporary resting place mm h
247
37. Ten Zo:辛亶藏 L 6 paper-made tablets

a. Nu Rai Fo Chu如來佛祖 were hung on a paper
b. 6 paths and 4 species 六道四生 made 5 colours lantern.
c. The Heaven Honorific of origin It was a Japanese term
元始天尊
d. Dragon kings of the 4 seas 四海龍王 (see Soo, 1981: 59-60).
e. Male and female orphan spirits Most of the informants
男女孤魂 did not know what it was and no
f. The great Jade Emperor 玉皇大帝 one talked about it, and no of
fering was made to it, either.
38. the City God 城隍 H Decoration, except the roof,
was the same as the Ming-che.
39. The Earthgod 福德正神 H
40. Chi-zo 地藏 R Japanese Earthgod
41.Tien Hau天后聖母 R
42-43. Generals Han and Ha 哼哈ニ將 R Tien Hau's Guardmen.
44-45. Tien Hau 天后 R The substitutes of Tien Hau.
46. Kwan Ti關聖大帝 R The main God of the Temple,
47-48. Kwan Ping and Chau Chan R The iguardmen
guardmenof Kwan Ti.
關平、周倉
49. Kwan Ti 關帝 R Substitute of Kwan Ti
50-51. Kwan Yin (Kannon)觀音 R The Goddess of Mercy and her
substitute.
52-54. hgod幅德正帝 R The god and his substitutes.
55-57. Kung指南宮
Tzi Nan Kung R The name was a Temple's
name. The god of the temple
was Lu Tzu (召祖）56 and 57
were his substitutes.
58. The Lord of the Heaven 天公
In addition there was 4 paper-made messenger-and-horses (忖•使馬).One of

them was burnt after evey ‘Reporting’ ritual and the 'Thanking' ritual of the last
day.
Notes: Q = Incense bowl(s) and offerings only

R = Porcelain Statue
T = paper-tablet
H = paper-made house
F = paper-made figure
P = painting
L = paper-made lantern.
248 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
Table
Table B. Ming-che
B. Ming-che
A B c D E F G H I J
I M 70 3 Hokkien Himeji Grave C wife

wife(70,
(70,
Hokkien)
Hokkien)
II m. M 50 3 Hokkien Yokohama Lived for 5 C Wife
Wife(50(50Japanese)
Japanese)
years. Grave and 3 children
III
III m M 65 1 Hokkien
Hokkien Kobe Resident c immigrants who
who he
he
helped
IV m F 70 1 Canton Yokohama 1st
1st arrived
arrivedinin c Boss,
Boss,Friends,
Friends,
mainly
mainly
Kobe,
Kobe, Grave.
Grave. Cantonese females
V £ M 40 1 Shanghai Kobe Resident c wife
wife (Cantonese,
(Cantonese, 2nd 2nd
generation)
VI
VI M 70 4 Hokkien Kobe Grave c sister-in-law=rs
sister-in-law=I's wife,
wife,
grandaughter
grandaughter
VII
VII «■ M 60 1 Shantong Kobe Resident c worshippers
worshippers
VIII F 60 1 Shantong Kobe born B son-in-law
son-in-law (from
(from
fa
Kiangsu)
IX
IX m M 60 1 Canton Yokohama wife B wife
wife(54,
(54,Cantonese
Cantonese 2nd2nd
generation,
generation,born andand
born
lived in Kobe till
married)
X fa M 50 1 Hokkien Kobe Resident B Brother
Brother(Chairman
(Chairman
of of
the Asso.)
XI
XI i M 60 1 Taiwan Kobe Resident
lent C Committee members
XII
XII ft M 80 1 Hokkien
Hokkien Kobe ex-chairman
lairman ( of A Committee members
the Asso. and others
XIII fa M 42 1+ Canton Kobe Resident C 2nd
2ndbrother
brother
A = Code number of the Ming-che of the 'Newly Dead’ on Plan of Festival Area
B = Surname of the 'Newly Dead'
C = Sex of the 'Newly Dead’
D = Estimated age of the 'Newly Dead’ at death
E = Year(s) after death
F = Origins of the 'Newly Dead’
G = Residential place of the 'Newly Dead' in Japan
H = Relationship with Kobe
I = Class of Ming-che (A==470,000 yen, B=350,000 yen, C=200,000 yen)
J = Informants' relationship with the 'Newly Dead'
249
Documents
⑴榜（The Introduction to the Pang)
維日沐手焚香至心皈命
娑婆教主釋迦文仙西方接引彌陀如来大慈大悲觀世音菩薩幽明敎
主地蔵慈尊冥府十王諸大神紙各寶金蓮座下具情伏爲屢次世界戰
爭陣亡将士及我同胞死於非命者各姓堂上三代宗親之靈切念業海
茫茫、伏慈航而普渡、塵網重重、賴智劍而頓澈。同人等別井離鄕、飄
零海外、春秋祭祀、徒望白雲。四時佳節、唯悲風樹。兼之屢次世界大
戰之中陣亡将士、以及我同胞死於非命者，豈可勝教。如是，最大敎刼
，皆由業成，然因果相乘、連續如環。不藉仙陀慈悲之力、蓋釋怨怨
不解之結。同人等有感及此，爰發起設建普度勝會於是渭今一九八
ニ年嘉曆，月エラB起至;]三日間月滿恭請京都萬幅寺六和僧
衆一堂逐日諷誦。大乘般若等經、加持諸品神咒、是晚虔備香花
設放瑜伽津濟锬平等甘露法食全堂三尊允鑒萬聖垂光、宏開普度之
門、大啓無遮之會專申追薦世界戰爭陣亡將士之靈以及各姓堂
中歴代宗親並及一切無袍孤魂等衆、伏此良因、同等蓮界伏願ニ
足立身慈庥靈爽高超、永證無生之淨土、家居樂業、戶納徵祥
常承慧日之照臨》同荷法雲之覆被。四恩報德三有均質法
界衆生同願種智。恭干三寶證盟普度施食功德文疏。時維
一九八ニ年奇曆，月ホ®日至エ£日三日間月滿。奉仙修齋弟子李有
泉同諸信_姓人等百科具疏（按••以下人名）
⑵ The Contract of the Ming-che
立冥寶界之契
涓於公元一九八弍年爲故考府□ロ公西歸。今謹請紙師林愛香先生謹造
一座冥寶界以爲□□公笑納居住、可請駕往庫官處領收應用可也。今立
冥寶界之契字一紙爲證。
尙饗
紙師：林愛香
陽居
上人
250 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
(3) Application Letter for Holding a 'Chine

the Chief of the Ningpo Merchants, Hu H
明治六年寧波衆商管胡小萍支那人盆會執行願書
寧波衆商管胡小萍
謹啓者：窃惟律中夷、則目蓮極母罪之辰、節中
中國商人來游貴國、貿易將十年。因水土之不同
之非邇、魂滯神戶。凡寓柔梓、咸深閔恤。今兩
、而十方使佛カ同獲超昇。爲此誠備冥鑑施貧、
蓮座之妙法、爲盂蘭盆之勝會“惟陸居寧靜、海道
日、在新築大馬路內啓建道場、想貴國長官、一
、死者亦母憐惻。乞於是日、恩飭巡捕敷名、到
、一體誠敬、毋仕喧嘩。實幽明抱感、存沒咸善
聞卽頌明治六年
兵庫縣外務局長官大人
(資料見神戶華僑博物館蔵
神戶華僑資料②）
251
Ancestral Tablet in the "Ancestral Hall”
JX
%
S IB
$ IB IB PP
IB $
Tfffl
#1 ft m ±
ft IS ft
hi m lei
e ± £
£
JR
R
ft
The tablet Receipt of

the money for
presenting the tablet in
the Ancestral Hall
252 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
■pi tz;." &

■■
15. The Festival Area
r-SJSSSSEMH S S^S
離:ぬ漏
16. The
253
a#'
BH
17.
17.The
TheMing-che
Ming-cheArea Area
18. Musical instruments being played in the Ming-che area
254 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
nr§
m,
19. One of the objects of worship (Ten Zo)
255
A
%
20. The
The "Silver
‘‘SilverHill"
Hill，，
256 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
/ /
21.The
21. The Reporting
Reporting Ritual(1)
Ritual (1)
y:
The Reporting
22. The Reporting Ritual
Ritual(2)
(2)
257
7 m
... f
l#t AM
!• J
23. The
23. TheReporting
Reporting Ritual(3)
Ritual (3)
258 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
WUBBik
*: つ，声ぁへ‘‘
' * •*«' M>: *.*5 »**£<%*»»•-Si *■!»
24. 24. The
The Lantern Floating Ritual Lantern
tamr
§
m'wK'J*
mmm m
25. The
25.Offering Ritual (Yue-lan
The
ceremony at Uji, Kyoto) Offering R
259
p §JM
wmM
?s^
26.
26.The
TheGreat Offering
Great Ritual (inRitual
Offering the Ming-che area)Ming-che area)
(in the
27. The Great Offering Ritual (in the Tao-ch'ang area,1)
260 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
28.TheGratOferingRitual(intheTao-ch'ang rea,2)
261
29. The "Ancestral Hall”

Hall"
262 CHOI CHI CHEUNG
30. A Ming-che
263
31.Entrance
31. Entrance to
to the
the Tao-ch'ang
Tao-ch'ang
"86
32. The P'ang

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Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch

THE CHINESE "YUE LAN" GHOST FESTIVAL

The festival area can mainly be divided into four parts:3

1)The Tao-ch'ang (道場）area，where the priests performed

2) The Ming-che (冥宅）area. (Min-taku in Japanese meaning

3) The Temple area.

4) The Association Hall and the Kitchen area(s).

Worshippers seldom went to the main temple except for pre

The Tao-ch'ang area5 was seen as the most dangerous and

II. The Festival

According to the figure-maker (Tze-shi 紙師）Mr. Lin Yau

words, he starts to accept orders for makin

The festival lasted 4 nights and 5 days fr

From my observation, it appeared that

Table 1.Time Table

Date Time Announced

Aug. 31 15:00 Inviting the gods

• = in Japanese，means reincarnation through praying

of water (Kan Lu 甘露），the chief priest

The ‘Reporting’ ritual,12 which took place

At about 3 p.m. on Sept. 2, a bus took fif

During the night offerings,19 the chief p

hand-gestures implying that he was going to replace the ghosts

III. Composition of the Participants

Four categories of the participants should be specially men

A team of nine priests, including eight monks and one nun,

twelve to fifteen priests but according to

The common worshippers came from var

However, if the tablets of the ancestors ar

Table 2. Income of the Festival

A = number of names listed in the Yellow-book

Second World War, he and three of his brothers ma

i) They were Hokkienese or they had affinal r

Gunma Prefecture and the Shikoku

ii) When they or their parents first emigrated to Japan they

iii) They have a special relationship with the ‘Newly Dead'

Case I: Hokkienese who lived in Himeji, brother of Case

Case II: Hokkienese who lived in Yokohama. He lived in

Case IV: Cantonese who lived in Yokohama. She was a

Case IX: Cantonese from Yokohama. His wife, a Canton

Some of the Cantonese told me that in the past the Cantonese

The committee was made up of voluntary Hokkienese, and

several employed Japanese workers.27 The committee members

The role of the Hokkienese is significant. It is said that only the

IV. The Objects of Worship

According to the committee members, the festival has no rela

burnt and vegetarian food was offered by ma

At the entrance of the Tao Ch'ang314 not

There were 7 types of objects worshipped (Table in the Appen

i) Those represented by incense bowls and offerings only.

V. Conclusion: History of the Festival in Kobe

According to an appeal to the Hyogo Government in 1873, the

Due to the anti-Chinese incident in Kobe in 1976, the Chinese

nese News (關西華僑報);reports about the Gh

10 The Lantern Floating ritual in Japanese is To Ro Nagashi’，which means to

Spring of 1662 the General gave him land in Uji to

25 Kulp, D.H., Country Life in South China, pp. 145-148.

34 See letter printed in the Appendix.

Kobe Chinese News (神戶華情報），Sept.10,1977. Kansai Chinese News

(A) Plan of Festival Area

;i.^-K V. * '' / a '< * \

Table A. Name of the Objects of Wors

1. A Nan Chun Che Hit Q