Japanese Traditional Confectionary in Peak Production Ahead of Bon Holidays; Colorful Offering to Spirits of Ancestors

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:18 JST, July 29, 2025

Rakugan, colorful Japanese traditional confectionary made from starch and sugar molded into various shapes, are in peak production at a confectionary shop in Fukuchi, Fukuoka Prefecture, as the mid-August Bon holidays approach.

Rakugan are typically served as offerings at Buddhist altars during the Bon holidays, when the spirits of ancestors and deceased family members are believed to visit the world of living.

Workers at the shop are busy using food coloring to decorate rakugan shaped like plum blossoms and chrysanthemum flowers and attaching them to the surface of cylinders, making towers covered with colorful flowers.