It is currently the week of the spring equinox. In Japan, many Japanese people go their family’s cemetary during both the spring and autumn equinoctes.* The family cleans the headstone, prays, and offers gifts. A common gift is “Ohagi,” shown in photo.

When I watched the Pixar movie “Coco,” I felt that the traditions shown in the movie are very similar to Japanese traditions. (Going to the cemetary. The dead visiting the earth and partaking in gifts. And so on.) In fact, the movie “Coco” is NOT called “Coco” here in Japan. Its name is “Remember me.” (The title is in English, but it’s written in Japanese katakana script, so it’s pronounced Remembaa Mee.)

*Plural form of equinox. You can remember it like this: Two foctes lock the five boctes, but three octes are inside three of the boctes. And all this happens during the spring and autumn equinoctes. So before you lock your boctes, knock.