Abstract
This paper is an attempt to study a group of people who support a folk festival. Focusing on the Jizo Obon festival, I would like to show the function of the festival group in its community. These people take part in the preparations for and performance of the Jizo Obon festival and other regular Kuyo (Buddhist worship and other religious rituals).
The festival group, known in Japan as "Jizo-ko" provides both the leadership and the followership for the festival.
In this investigation of the influence of the festival group upon the community and the degree to which the Jizo faith has penetrated the community, I unfortunately had to rely on a limited number of cases.
Future research along these lines may help us to understand in greater detail the relationship between the festival group and other social groups and mechanisms.
