When two cardboard boxes filled with uchiwa fans were placed in the middle of the muggy Seattle Buddhist Temple's gym Wednesday night, everyone rushed over and grabbed a pair.

Some children played with them, while older people fanned themselves. Others, however, took a round fan into each hand and began dancing, practicing the motions of omikoshi ondo — the dance of the village palanquin. It's a folk dance, one of many to be performed at this weekend's Bon Odori Festival.

The 71st annual festival recognizes the Bon holiday (also known as Obon), one of the most important Japanese Buddhist holidays of the year. The two-day holiday is considered a time for somber reflection and festive celebration in honor of one's ancestors.

Bon Odori is a style of folk dance performed in honor of the returning spirits of the ancestors. The dances and music vary throughout Japan. The steps and motions are fairly easy to learn because they consist of about five repeating steps, said Sharon Yuasa, an instructor who has been teaching Bon Odori for more than 40 years.

The steps of each dance typically mimic the motions of the subject of that dance.

For example, in the tanko bushi, the coal-miner dance, people go through the motions of digging and carrying coal. The yakyu ken odori, the baseball dance, is popular among children and sports fans because it mimics the motions of batting, pitching and catching, Yuasa said.

The lyrics add meaning to the dance steps. For example, the lyrics for tanko bushi describe life in a coal-mining town, of smoke obscuring the moon and mountains, said James Doi, 82, a former University of Washington professor who attended Wednesday's dance practice.

Some dances use props, such as fans for omikoshi ondo or paper lanterns for the zen koku ondo, the all-nation dance. All the dancers wear colorful Japanese yukatas, kimonos and happi coats, usually made of silk.

More than 100 people attended the final rehearsal Wednesday in the Seattle Buddhist Temple's gym. While many people danced, others enjoyed kori — flavored shaved ice — in the warm summer evening and watched an impromptu taiko performance. From the parking lot next door, the heavy percussive boom-boom-boom of barrel-sized taiko drums could be heard, as the drummers, too, prepared for the festival.

Gary Tsujimoto and Nancy Ozaki, a husband-and-wife team, played side by side, constantly spinning past each other, switching drums. Periodically, they spun their drumsticks dramatically before slamming them down against the drums.

"It's a visual performance; we embellish hitting the drum and our movements," said Tsujimoto, who enjoys playing taiko because it's a way for him to experience his culture.

Both Sheri Miyake's immediate and extended family were at the Bon Odori rehearsal. She uses the festival to pass on her heritage to her three children, she said.

The kids simply enjoyed the beating music and the dancing.

"I like the dancing!" said Emily Ko, 5. She paused briefly to slurp her shaved ice. "And the kori, too!"

Victor Gonzales: 206-464-2393 or vgonzales@seattletimes.com