Bon Dance Panel 2 - The Beginning of Bon Dance in Hawai’i

The bon dance likely had its beginnings in Hawai’i at the sugar plantations in the late 19th century. Feeling nostalgic, Japanese immigrants from the same region of Japan would get together and reenact the bon dance from memory.
In the early 20th century when Buddhist temples were built within the plantation camps, the bon dance started to be held at the temples. From the late 19th century, the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Sect (Nishi Hongwanji) started full-scale propagation in Hawai’i, and other Japanese Buddhist sects also came to Hawai’i. By 1906, there were over 30 Buddhist temples in the sugar plantations on all the major Hawaiian islands.
In the beginning, people from a specific prefecture held their own bon dances. Eventually, the bon dance was held by Japanese immigrants from different prefectures. Their mindset changed from being prefecture-specific to a more collective Japanese mindset. Their culture evolved accordingly.

Panel photo: Sugar plantation workers in late 19th or early 20th century.