One day, if you’re lucky, maybe someone will remember you at Obon like this.
So imagine you’re dead, which is definitely a bummer. On the plus side, though, you’re Japanese-style dead, which means your spirit gets to come back to your home town in the world of the living every year as part of the Obon festival, which most of Japan celebrates in August.
Your surviving family members will even help you out by setting up traditional kyuri uma (“cucumber horses”) decorations, which are supposed to ensure a swift, smooth trip home.
▼ A cucumber horse next to an eggplant ox, another common Obon decoration.
Really, a nicely made cucumber horse is a sign that you had a full life, and are remembered fondly by your family. But you know what’s a sign that you really lived a good life? When your descendants care so much about you that instead of a horse, they prepare a Legendary Pokémon for you!
Pictured above is the handiwork of Japanese Twitter user @amenomi1366. A fan of both anime and model-building, @amenomi1366 honored his ancestors this Obon by skipping the horse and instead crafting a cucumber Rayquaza, the rare and powerful Dragon/Flyting-type Pocket Monster that made its video game debut in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
▼ Rayquaza in Pokémon GO
Not only does the cucumber Rayquaza look awesome in still photos, @amenomi1366 has set it up on a rotating stand so that we can gaze upon its majesty from all angles.
Really, the only room for criticism is that for Obon, the cucumber horse symbolizes spirits’ journey to visit their family, while the eggplant ox is supposed to be for their trip back to the realm beyond. As such, @amenomi1366’s ancestors might be disappointed after arriving in style on the back of a Rayquaza and later finding out they’ll be leaving on a plain old eggplant ox, so maybe eggplant conveyance with a little more flare would increase their overall travel satisfaction.
Source: Twitter/@amenomi1366 via Hachima Kiko
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