Ohaka Mairi Japanese Visiting The Family Grave Tradition
The Old Japanese folklore belief of worshiping the souls of ancestors was Combined with the Buddhist belief that heaven lies due west, People started to visit their family graves, so they say, on the Equinox, When the sun sets due west. This custom exists neither in China nor India.
At the graveyard, people sweep around the gravestones and wash them. After the cleaning, they offer flowers, incense sticks and food and drinks which their ancestors loved. Each person pours water over the stone. and prays. They say the dead are always feeling thirsty. the water soothes them