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{{Short description|Traditional Japanese Festival in Kyoto}}
{{Short description|Traditional Japanese Festival in Kyoto}}
{{Infobox holiday
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = Gion Festival (Gion Matsuri)
| holiday_name = Gion Festival (Gion Matsuri)
|type = local
| type = local
|image = Yoiyama - The Gion Festival - July 14, 2008.jpg
| image = Yoiyama - The Gion Festival - July 14, 2008.jpg
|imagesize = 250px
| imagesize = 250px
|caption = "Yoiyama"
| caption = ''Yoiyama'' during the Gion Festival
|official_name =
| official_name =
|nickname =
| nickname =
|observedby = Kyoto
| observedby = Kyoto
|litcolor =
| litcolor =
|longtype = Religious
| longtype = Religious
|significance =
| significance =
|begins = 1 July
| begins = 1 July
|ends = 31 July
| ends = 31 July
|date = Month of July
| date = Month of July
|celebrations =
| celebrations =
|observances =
| observances =
|relatedto =
| relatedto =
}}
}}
The {{Nihongo|'''Gion Festival'''|祇園祭|Gion Matsuri}} takes place annually during the month of July in [[Kyoto]] and is one of the most famous and largest festivals in [[Japan]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Brumann|first=Christoph|date=2009|title=Outside the Glass Case: The Social Life of Urban Heritage in Kyoto|journal=American Ethnologist|volume=36|pages=276-299}}</ref> It's formally part of Japan's indigenous, nature-based [[Shinto]] faith, and its original purposes were purification and pacification of disease-causing entities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Como|first=Michael|date=2007|title=Horses, Dragons, and Disease in Nara Japan|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=34|pages=407}}</ref> There are many ceremonies held during the festival, but it is best known for its two {{nihongo|''Yamaboko Junkō''|山鉾巡行|}} processions of floats, which take place on July 17th and 24th.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Chapin|first=Helen B|date=1934|title=The Gion Shrine and the Gion Festival|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=54|pages=282-289}}</ref> Many festival events take place in the historic kimono district<ref name=":4"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pawasarat |first1=Catherine |title=The Gion Festival: Exploring Its Mysteries |date=Nov 2020 |publisher=self-published |isbn=978-0-9985886-6-7 |url = https://www.gionfestival.org/book/}}</ref> in central Kyoto, and at the Yasaka Shrine. The Shinto Yasaka Shrine is the festival's patron shrine. It's located in Kyoto's famous [[Gion]] district, which gives the festival its name.<ref name=":2" />
The {{Nihongo|'''Gion Festival'''|祇園祭|Gion Matsuri}} is one of the largest and most famous festivals in [[Japan]], taking place annually during the month of July in [[Kyoto]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Brumann|first=Christoph|date=2009|title=Outside the Glass Case: The Social Life of Urban Heritage in Kyoto|journal=American Ethnologist|volume=36|issue=2 |pages=276–299|doi=10.1111/j.1548-1425.2009.01135.x }}</ref> Many events take place in central Kyoto and at the [[Yasaka Shrine]], the festival's patron shrine, located in Kyoto's famous [[Gion]] district, which gives the festival its name.<ref name=":2" /> It is formally a [[Shinto]] festival, and its original purposes were purification and pacification of disease-causing entities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Como|first=Michael|date=2007|title=Horses, Dragons, and Disease in Nara Japan|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=34|pages=407}}</ref> There are many ceremonies held during the festival, but it is best known for its two {{nihongo|''Yamaboko Junkō''|山鉾巡行|}} processions of [[Matsuri Float|floats]], which take place on July 17 and 24.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Chapin|first=Helen B|date=1934|title=The Gion Shrine and the Gion Festival|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=54|issue=3 |pages=282–289|doi=10.2307/594168 |jstor=594168 }}</ref>


Kyoto's downtown area is reserved for pedestrian traffic on the three nights leading up to the massive procession on July 17. These nights leading up to the festival are known as {{transl|ja|yoiyama}} (宵山) on July 16 and July 23, {{transl|ja|yoiyoiyama}} (宵々山) on July 15 and July 22, and {{transl|ja|yoiyoiyoiyama}} (宵々々山) on July 14 and July 21. From July 14-16, the streets are lined with night stalls selling food such as {{transl|ja|[[yakitori]]}} (barbecued chicken on skewers), {{transl|ja|[[taiyaki]]}}, {{transl|ja|[[takoyaki]]}} (fried octopus balls), {{transl|ja|[[okonomiyaki]]}}, traditional Japanese sweets, and many other culinary delights.
The three nights leading up to each day of a procession are sequentially called {{nihongo|''yoiyoiyoiyama''|宵々々山}}, {{nihongo|''yoiyoiyama''|宵々山}}, and {{nihongo|''yoiyama''|宵山}}. During these {{transl|ja|yoiyama}} evenings, Kyoto's downtown area is reserved for pedestrian traffic, and some traditional private houses near the floats open their entryways to the public, exhibiting family heirlooms in a custom known as the {{Nihongo|Folding Screen Festival|屏風祭り|Byōbu Matsuri}}. Additionally, the streets are lined with night stalls selling food such as {{transl|ja|[[yakitori]]}} (barbecued chicken on skewers), {{transl|ja|[[taiyaki]]}}, {{transl|ja|[[takoyaki]]}} (fried octopus balls), {{transl|ja|[[okonomiyaki]]}}, traditional Japanese sweets, and many other culinary delights.

For centuries kimono merchants were major sponsors of the Gion Festival's ''yamaboko'' floats. As a result, it's tradition to wear {{transl|ja|[[yukata]]}} (summer [[kimono]]) and [[kimono]] to walk around the Gion Festival. One of its nicknames used to be "the Kimono Festival," because so many visitors showed off the latest kimono fashions.<ref name=":4" />

During the {{transl|ja|yoiyama}} evenings leading up to the parade, some private houses in the old [[kimono]] merchant district open their entryways to the public, exhibiting family heirlooms in a custom known as the ''Byōbu Matsuri'', or Folding Screen Festival. This provides visitors with an opportunity to visit and observe traditional Japanese residences.


==History==
==History==
[[File:Gion Matsuri of Kyoto Japan 1920s.jpg|thumb|left|The parade held in [[Kyoto]] in the 1920s]]

===Ancient years===
===Ancient years===
[[File:Gion Matsuri of Kyoto Japan 1920s.jpg|thumb|left|The parade held in [[Kyoto]] in the 1920s]]
[[Image:Gion Matsuri.jpg|thumb|right|Traditional wooden [[Matsuri Float|floats]] in Gion Matsuri 2014.]]
⚫
The Gion Festival originated during an epidemic as part of a purification ritual ({{transl|ja|goryo-e}}) to appease the gods thought to cause fire, floods, and earthquakes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Holiday Symbols and Customs|last=Jones|first=Keith|publisher=Omnigraphics Incorporated|year=2015|location=Detroit|pages=345}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Teeuwen |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RpymEAAAQBAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions |title=Kyoto's Gion Festival: A Social History |date=2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-22993-8 |language=en |chapter=900-1200: The Politics of Divine Wrath}}</ref> In 869, when people were suffering from a plague attributed to vengeful spirits, [[Emperor Seiwa]] ordered prayers to [[Susanoo-no-Mikoto]], the god of the [[Yasaka Shrine]]. Sixty-six stylized and decorated [[halberd]]s, one for each of the traditional provinces of Japan, were prepared and erected at Shinsen-en, a garden in the south of the imperial palace, along with {{Nihongo3|'portable shrines'|御輿|''[[mikoshi]]''}} from Yasaka Shrine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=祇園祭ぎゃらりぃ {{!}} 祇園祭とは |url=https://gionmatsuri-g.com/about.html |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=gionmatsuri-g.com}}</ref> This practice was repeated wherever an outbreak of plague occurred. By the year 1000, the festival became an annual event and it has since seldom failed to take place. During the civil [[Onin War]] (under the [[Ashikaga shogunate]]), central Kyoto was devastated, and the festival was halted for three decades in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.<ref name=":0" /> Later in the 16th century, it was revived by the shogun [[Oda Nobunaga]].<ref name=":0" />
[[Image:Gion Matsuri.jpg|thumb|right|Traditional wooden floats in Gion Matsuri 2014.]]
⚫
This festival originated during an epidemic in 869 as part of a purification ritual ({{transl|ja|goryo-e}}) to appease the gods thought to cause fire, floods and earthquakes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Holiday Symbols and Customs|last=Jones|first=Keith|publisher=Omnigraphics Incorporated|year=2015|location=Detroit|pages=345}}</ref> In 869, when people were suffering from a plague attributed to vengeful spirits, [[Emperor Seiwa]] ordered prayers to the god of the [[Yasaka Shrine]], [[Susanoo-no-Mikoto]]. Sixty-six stylized and decorated [[halberd]]s, one for each of the traditional provinces of Japan, were prepared and erected at Shinsen-en, a garden in the south of the imperial palace, along with portable shrines ({{transl|ja|[[mikoshi]]}}) from Yasaka Shrine. This practice was repeated wherever an outbreak of plague occurred. By the year 1000, the festival became an annual event and it has since seldom failed to take place. During the civil [[Onin War]] (under the [[Ashikaga shogunate]]), central Kyoto was devastated, and the festival was halted for three decades in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> />Later in the 16th century it was revived by the shogun [[Oda Nobunaga]].<ref name=":0" /> Over time the increasingly powerful and influential merchant class—particularly kimono merchants—made the festival more elaborate and, by the [[Edo period]] (1603–1868), it was using the parade to brandish its wealth.<ref name=":4" />


Over the centuries, some floats have been destroyed or otherwise lost, and in recent years several have been restored. Float neighborhood associations sometimes purchase antique tapestries to replace worn or destroyed ones, or commission replicas from industrial weavers in Kyoto, or design and commission new ones from the weavers of Kyoto's famous traditional Nishijin weaving district.<ref name=":4" /> When they are not in use, the floats and regalia are kept in special storehouses throughout the central kimono district of Kyoto, or at Yasaka Shrine.
Over the centuries, some floats have been destroyed or otherwise lost, and in recent years several have been restored. Float neighborhood associations sometimes purchase antique tapestries to replace worn or destroyed ones, or commission replicas from industrial weavers in Kyoto, or design and commission new ones from the weavers of Kyoto's famous traditional Nishijin weaving district.{{cn|date=February 2022}} When they are not in use, the floats and regalia are kept in special storehouses throughout the central district of Kyoto, or at Yasaka Shrine.


The festival serves as an important setting in [[Yasunari Kawabata|Yasunari Kawabata's]] novel, ''[[The Old Capital]]'' in which he describes the festival, along with the [[Jidai Matsuri|Festival of Ages]] and the [[Aoi Matsuri|Aoi Festival]], as "the 'three great festivals' of the old capital".<ref>Kawabata, Yasunari. ''The Old Capital''. Trans. J. Martin Holman. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1987. 131. Print</ref>
The festival serves as an important setting in [[Yasunari Kawabata]]'s novel, ''[[The Old Capital]]'', in which he describes the Gion Festival as one of "the 'three great festivals' of the old capital", along with the [[Jidai Matsuri|Festival of Ages]] and the [[Aoi Matsuri|Aoi Festival]].<ref>Kawabata, Yasunari. ''The Old Capital''. Trans. J. Martin Holman. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1987. 131. Print</ref>


===Gallery===
===Gallery===
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:Crafts and food2.jpg|Festival street with food and craft vendors
File:Ayagasaboko.jpg|''Ayagasaboko'' float
File:Ayagasaboko.jpg|''Ayagasaboko'' float marchers
⚫
File:Crowd controlfestival.jpg|Police stand ready.
⚫
File:Yamaboko Gion.jpg|A {{transl|ja|yamaboko}} float (2013)
File:Crafts and food2.jpg|Food and crafts adorn every street during the festival.
⚫
File:Crowd controlfestival.jpg|Police standing ready
⚫
File:Yamaboko Gion.jpg|A {{transl|ja|yamaboko}} float, 2013.
File:Gion Matsuri-01.jpg
File:Gion Matsuri-01.jpg
File:Gion Matsuri-02.jpg
File:Gion Matsuri-02.jpg
Line 54: Line 49:


==Schedule of events==
==Schedule of events==
{{unref|section|date=July 2020}}
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2020}}
Following is a list of selected annual events in the Gion Festival.
Following is a list of selected annual events in the Gion Festival.
* July 1 through 5: ''Kippuiri'', opening ceremony of festival in each participating neighbourhood
* July 1–5: {{transl|ja|Kippuiri}}, opening ceremony of festival in each participating neighborhood
* July 2: ''Kujitorishiki'', [[lottery]] for the order of floats in the parade order, conducted at the municipal assembly hall
* July 2: {{transl|ja|Kujitorishiki}}, a [[lottery]] to determine the order of floats in the parade, conducted at the municipal assembly hall
* July 7: Shrine visit by {{transl|ja|chigo}} children of ''Ayagasaboko''
* July 7: Shrine visit by {{transl|ja|chigo}} children of {{transl|ja|Ayagasaboko}}
* July 10: [[Lantern]] parade to welcome {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} (portable shrines)
* July 10: [[Lantern]] parade to welcome {{Nihongo3|'portable shrines'|御輿|''mikoshi''}}
* July 10: ''Mikoshi arai'', cleansing of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} with sacred water from the [[Kamo River]]
* July 10: {{transl|ja|Mikoshi arai}}, cleansing of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} with [[Sacred waters|sacred water]] from the [[Kamo River]]
* July 10 through 13: Building of floats
* July 10–13: Building of floats
* July 13 a.m.: Shrine visit by {{transl|ja|chigo}} children of ''Naginataboko''
* July 13 (a.m.): Shrine visit by {{transl|ja|chigo}} children of {{transl|ja|Naginataboko}}
* July 13 p.m.: Shrine visit by {{transl|ja|chigo}} children of Kuse Shrine
* July 13 (p.m.): Shrine visit by {{transl|ja|chigo}} children of Kuse Shrine
* July 14: ''Yoiyoiyoiyama''
* July 14: {{transl|ja|Yoiyoiyoiyama}}
* July 15: ''Yoiyoiyama''
* July 15: {{transl|ja|Yoiyoiyama}}
* July 16: ''Yoiyama''
* July 16: {{transl|ja|Yoiyama}}
* July 16: {{transl|ja|Yoimiya shinshin hono shinji}}, art performances
* July 16: {{transl|ja|Yoimiya shinshin hono shinji}}, art performances
* July 17: Parade of {{transl|ja|yamaboko}} floats
* July 17: Parade of {{transl|ja|yamaboko}} floats
* July 17: Parade of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} from Yasaka Shrine
* July 17: Parade of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} from Yasaka Shrine
* July 18 through 20: Building of floats
* July 18–20: Building of floats
* July 21: ''Yoiyoiyoiyama''
* July 21: {{transl|ja|Yoiyoiyoiyama}}
* July 22: ''Yoiyoiyama''
* July 22: {{transl|ja|Yoiyoiyama}}
* July 23: ''Yoiyama''
* July 23: {{transl|ja|Yoiyama}}
* July 24: Parade of {{transl|ja|yamaboko}} floats
* July 24: Parade of {{transl|ja|yamaboko}} float
* July 24: Parade of {{transl|ja|hanagasa}} ("flower parasols")
* July 24: Parade of {{Nihongo3|'flower parasols'|花傘|''hanagasa''}}
* July 24: Parade of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} to Yasaka Shrine
* July 24: Parade of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} to Yasaka Shrine
* July 28: ''Mikoshi arai'', cleansing of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} with sacred water from the Kamo River
* July 28: {{transl|ja|Mikoshi arai}}, cleansing of {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} with sacred water from the Kamo River
* July 31: Closing service at Eki Shrine
* July 31: Closing service at Eki Shrine


==Yamaboko floats==<!--[[Yamahoko]] redirects directly here-->
==Yamaboko floats==<!--[[Yamahoko]] redirects directly here-->
[[Image:Niwatoriboko.jpg|thumb|Niwatoriboko float, one of the first to begin the parade. Festival-goers take turns getting on the float through a side building.]]
[[Image:Niwatoriboko.jpg|thumb|''Niwatoriboko'' [[Matsuri Float|float]], one of the first to begin the parade. Festival-goers take turns getting on the float through a side building.]]
The floats in the Yoiyama Parade are divided into two groups, the larger Hoko ("halberd") and the smaller Yama ("mountain"), and are collectively called Yamaboko.<ref name=":2" /> The ten Hoko recall the 66 halberds or spears used in the original purification ritual, and the 24 Yama carry life-sized figures of [[Shinto]] deities, Buddhist [[Bodhisattva|bodhisattvas]], and other historic and cultural figures.<ref name=":4" /> All the floats are decorated with diverse tapestries, some made in [[Nishijin]], Kyoto's traditional textile-weaving district, while others have been imported from all over the world. In fact, thanks to a 1993 survey of the Gion Festival's imported textiles by a team of international textile conservationists and collectors, its unique textile collection is renowned amongst textile professionals worldwide.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kajitani, Nobuko and Yoshida, Kojiro |title=祇園祭山鉾懸装品 Gion Festival Float Tapestries |date=1992 |publisher=祇園祭山鉾連合会 Gion Festival Float Association |location=Kyoto}}</ref> Musicians sit in the floats playing drums and flutes.<ref name=":1" /> The floats are pulled with ropes down the street and good luck favors are thrown from the floats to the crowd.<ref name=":1" /> In 1979 Yamahoko was listed on the [[List of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties|Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties]]. And in 2009 Yamahoko was listed on the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].
The [[Matsuri Float|floats]] in the {{transl|ja|yoiyama}} parade are divided into two groups, the larger {{transl|ja|hoko}} ("halberd") and the smaller {{transl|ja|yama}} ("mountain"), and are collectively called {{transl|ja|yamaboko}}.<ref name=":2" /> The ten {{transl|ja|hoko}} recall the 66 halberds or spears used in the original purification ritual, and the 24 {{transl|ja|yama}} carry life-sized figures of [[Shinto]] deities, Buddhist [[bodhisattva]]s, and other historic and cultural figures.{{cn|date=February 2022}} All the floats are decorated with diverse tapestries, some made in [[Nishijin]], Kyoto's traditional textile-weaving district, while others have been imported from all over the world. In fact, thanks to a 1993 survey of the Gion Festival's imported textiles by a team of international textile conservationists and collectors, its unique textile collection is renowned amongst textile professionals worldwide.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kajitani, Nobuko and Yoshida, Kojiro |title=祇園祭山鉾懸装品 Gion Festival Float Tapestries |date=1992 |publisher=祇園祭山鉾連合会 Gion Festival Float Association |location=Kyoto}}</ref> Musicians sit in the floats playing drums and flutes.<ref name=":1" /> The floats are pulled with ropes down the street and good luck favors are thrown from the floats to the crowd.<ref name=":1" /> {{transl|ja|Yamahoko}} were listed on the [[List of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties|Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties]] in 1979, and on the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] in 2009.

⚫
On the evening of July 17th, hundreds of men carry Yasaka Shrine's resident deities around diverse parishioners' neighborhoods in portable ''mikoshi'' shrines to the ''otabisho'', a temporary dwelling in central Kyoto.<ref name=":3" /> It's believed the deities purify all the neighborhoods along the way. They reside at the otabisho for a week, between the two floats' processions.<ref name=":3" /> On the 24th they are taken back to the Yasaka Shrine to their permanent dwelling.<ref name=":3" /> On the way back to the shrine, the procession stops at Shinsen-en, the original site of the first rituals in the year 869, the former Imperial garden.


⚫
On the evening of July 17, hundreds of men carry Yasaka Shrine's resident deities around diverse parishioners' neighborhoods in portable {{transl|ja|mikoshi}} shrines to the {{transl|ja|otabisho}}, a temporary dwelling in central Kyoto.<ref name=":3" /> It's believed the deities purify all the neighborhoods along the way. They reside at the otabisho for a week, between the two floats' processions.<ref name=":3" /> On the 24th they are taken back to the Yasaka Shrine to their permanent dwelling.<ref name=":3" /> On the way back to the shrine, the procession stops at Shinsen-en, the original site of the first rituals in the year 869, the former Imperial garden.
⚫
Each year the neighborhood associations that maintain the floats draw lots at a special meeting in early July to determine in what order the floats will appear in the July 17 and 24 processions. These lots are presented in a special ceremony at the commence of the processions, during which the Mayor of Kyoto dons the robes of a magistrate.
[[File:Niwatoriboko_at_night.jpg|thumb|Niwatoriboko float at night]]
⚫
Each year, the neighborhood associations which maintain the floats draw lots in early July. This lottery determines the order in which the floats will appear in the July 17 and 24 processions. These lots are presented in a special ceremony at the commence of the processions, during which the Mayor of Kyoto dons the robes of a magistrate.


On the ''Naginata Hoko'' is the {{transl|ja|chigo}}, a young boy in ceremonial robes and crowned with a golden phoenix, chosen from among the Kyoto merchant families as the deity's sacred page. After weeks of special purification ceremonies, during which he lives isolated from contaminating influences (such as inappropriate foods and the presence of women), he is carried onto the float, as he is not permitted to touch the ground. To begin the float procession on July 17, the chigo cuts a sacred rope ({{transl|ja|shimenawa}}) with a single stroke of a real sword.
The Naginata Hoko depicts a {{transl|ja|chigo}} wearing a ceremonial robe and wearing a golden phoenix, chosen as the sacred page of a deity from among merchant houses in Kyoto. After several weeks of special ablution ceremonies, he lives in isolation from the effects of contamination (such as inappropriate food and the presence of women) and is not allowed to touch the ground, so he is placed in a wagon. At the start of the {{transl|ja|yamahoko}} on July 17, the {{transl|ja|chigo}} cuts the shimenawa with a swing of his sword.


===Hoko floats===
===Hoko floats===
*Weight: about 12 tons<ref name=":2" />
*Weight: about 12&nbsp;tons<ref name=":2" />
*Height: about 27 meters<ref name=":2" />
*Height: about 27&nbsp;meters<ref name=":2" />
*Wheel diameter: about 1.9 m
*Wheel diameter: about 1.9&nbsp;m
*Attendants: about 30–40 pulling during procession, usually two men piloting with wedges<ref name=":2" />
*Attendants: about 30–40 pulling during procession, usually two men piloting with wedges<ref name=":2" />


===Yama floats===
===Yama floats===
*Weight: 1,200–1,600&nbsp;kg<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Hondru|first=Angela|date=2014|title=Matsuri -Essence of Japanese Spirituality-|journal=Romanian Economic and business Review|volume=9|pages=51}}</ref>
*Weight: 1,200–1,600&nbsp;kg<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Hondru|first=Angela|date=2014|title=Matsuri -Essence of Japanese Spirituality-|journal=Romanian Economic and Business Review|volume=9|pages=51}}</ref>
*Height: about 6 m
*Height: about 6&nbsp;m
*Attendants: 14–24 people to pull, push or carry
*Attendants: 14–24 people to pull, push or carry


==See Also==
==See also==
*{{Interlanguage link|Gion cult|ja|祇園信仰}}
*[[Gion cult]]
*[[Japanese festivals]]


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
== External links ==
{{commons category|Gion Matsuri}}
{{commons category|Gion Matsuri}}
* ''[https://www.kyokanko.or.jp/gion/junkou.html Gion Matsuri Procession Route 2014]''
* ''[https://www.kyokanko.or.jp/gion/junkou.html Gion Matsuri Procession Route 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325081130/https://www.kyokanko.or.jp/gion/junkou.html |date=2018-03-25 }}''
{{coord missing|Kyoto Prefecture}}
{{coord missing|Kyoto Prefecture}}
* ''https://gionfestival.org''
* ''https://gionfestival.org''
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[[Category:Summer events in Japan]]
[[Category:Summer events in Japan]]
[[Category:9th-century establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:9th-century establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Gion faith]]
[[Category:Gion cult]]
[[Category:Goryō faith]]
[[Category:Gion festivals]]

Latest revision as of 07:23, 2 December 2024

Gion Festival (Gion Matsuri)
Yoiyama during the Gion Festival
Observed byKyoto
TypeReligious
Begins1 July
Ends31 July
DateMonth of July

The Gion Festival (祇園祭, Gion Matsuri) is one of the largest and most famous festivals in Japan, taking place annually during the month of July in Kyoto.[1] Many events take place in central Kyoto and at the Yasaka Shrine, the festival's patron shrine, located in Kyoto's famous Gion district, which gives the festival its name.[1] It is formally a Shinto festival, and its original purposes were purification and pacification of disease-causing entities.[2] There are many ceremonies held during the festival, but it is best known for its two Yamaboko Junkō (山鉾巡行) processions of floats, which take place on July 17 and 24.[3]

The three nights leading up to each day of a procession are sequentially called yoiyoiyoiyama (宵々々山), yoiyoiyama (宵々山), and yoiyama (宵山). During these yoiyama evenings, Kyoto's downtown area is reserved for pedestrian traffic, and some traditional private houses near the floats open their entryways to the public, exhibiting family heirlooms in a custom known as the Folding Screen Festival (屏風祭り, Byōbu Matsuri). Additionally, the streets are lined with night stalls selling food such as yakitori (barbecued chicken on skewers), taiyaki, takoyaki (fried octopus balls), okonomiyaki, traditional Japanese sweets, and many other culinary delights.

History

[edit]
The parade held in Kyoto in the 1920s

Ancient years

[edit]
Traditional wooden floats in Gion Matsuri 2014.

The Gion Festival originated during an epidemic as part of a purification ritual (goryo-e) to appease the gods thought to cause fire, floods, and earthquakes.[4][5] In 869, when people were suffering from a plague attributed to vengeful spirits, Emperor Seiwa ordered prayers to Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the god of the Yasaka Shrine. Sixty-six stylized and decorated halberds, one for each of the traditional provinces of Japan, were prepared and erected at Shinsen-en, a garden in the south of the imperial palace, along with mikoshi (御輿, 'portable shrines') from Yasaka Shrine.[6] This practice was repeated wherever an outbreak of plague occurred. By the year 1000, the festival became an annual event and it has since seldom failed to take place. During the civil Onin War (under the Ashikaga shogunate), central Kyoto was devastated, and the festival was halted for three decades in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.[3] Later in the 16th century, it was revived by the shogun Oda Nobunaga.[3]

Over the centuries, some floats have been destroyed or otherwise lost, and in recent years several have been restored. Float neighborhood associations sometimes purchase antique tapestries to replace worn or destroyed ones, or commission replicas from industrial weavers in Kyoto, or design and commission new ones from the weavers of Kyoto's famous traditional Nishijin weaving district.[citation needed] When they are not in use, the floats and regalia are kept in special storehouses throughout the central district of Kyoto, or at Yasaka Shrine.

The festival serves as an important setting in Yasunari Kawabata's novel, The Old Capital, in which he describes the Gion Festival as one of "the 'three great festivals' of the old capital", along with the Festival of Ages and the Aoi Festival.[7]

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  • Festival street with food and craft vendors
    Festival street with food and craft vendors
  • Ayagasaboko float marchers
    Ayagasaboko float marchers
  • A yamaboko float (2013)
    A yamaboko float (2013)
  • Police standing ready
    Police standing ready

Schedule of events

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Following is a list of selected annual events in the Gion Festival.

  • July 1–5: Kippuiri, opening ceremony of festival in each participating neighborhood
  • July 2: Kujitorishiki, a lottery to determine the order of floats in the parade, conducted at the municipal assembly hall
  • July 7: Shrine visit by chigo children of Ayagasaboko
  • July 10: Lantern parade to welcome mikoshi (御輿, 'portable shrines')
  • July 10: Mikoshi arai, cleansing of mikoshi with sacred water from the Kamo River
  • July 10–13: Building of floats
  • July 13 (a.m.): Shrine visit by chigo children of Naginataboko
  • July 13 (p.m.): Shrine visit by chigo children of Kuse Shrine
  • July 14: Yoiyoiyoiyama
  • July 15: Yoiyoiyama
  • July 16: Yoiyama
  • July 16: Yoimiya shinshin hono shinji, art performances
  • July 17: Parade of yamaboko floats
  • July 17: Parade of mikoshi from Yasaka Shrine
  • July 18–20: Building of floats
  • July 21: Yoiyoiyoiyama
  • July 22: Yoiyoiyama
  • July 23: Yoiyama
  • July 24: Parade of yamaboko float
  • July 24: Parade of hanagasa (花傘, 'flower parasols')
  • July 24: Parade of mikoshi to Yasaka Shrine
  • July 28: Mikoshi arai, cleansing of mikoshi with sacred water from the Kamo River
  • July 31: Closing service at Eki Shrine

Yamaboko floats

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Niwatoriboko float, one of the first to begin the parade. Festival-goers take turns getting on the float through a side building.

The floats in the yoiyama parade are divided into two groups, the larger hoko ("halberd") and the smaller yama ("mountain"), and are collectively called yamaboko.[1] The ten hoko recall the 66 halberds or spears used in the original purification ritual, and the 24 yama carry life-sized figures of Shinto deities, Buddhist bodhisattvas, and other historic and cultural figures.[citation needed] All the floats are decorated with diverse tapestries, some made in Nishijin, Kyoto's traditional textile-weaving district, while others have been imported from all over the world. In fact, thanks to a 1993 survey of the Gion Festival's imported textiles by a team of international textile conservationists and collectors, its unique textile collection is renowned amongst textile professionals worldwide.[8] Musicians sit in the floats playing drums and flutes.[4] The floats are pulled with ropes down the street and good luck favors are thrown from the floats to the crowd.[4] Yamahoko were listed on the Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties in 1979, and on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

On the evening of July 17, hundreds of men carry Yasaka Shrine's resident deities around diverse parishioners' neighborhoods in portable mikoshi shrines to the otabisho, a temporary dwelling in central Kyoto.[9] It's believed the deities purify all the neighborhoods along the way. They reside at the otabisho for a week, between the two floats' processions.[9] On the 24th they are taken back to the Yasaka Shrine to their permanent dwelling.[9] On the way back to the shrine, the procession stops at Shinsen-en, the original site of the first rituals in the year 869, the former Imperial garden.

Niwatoriboko float at night

Each year, the neighborhood associations which maintain the floats draw lots in early July. This lottery determines the order in which the floats will appear in the July 17 and 24 processions. These lots are presented in a special ceremony at the commence of the processions, during which the Mayor of Kyoto dons the robes of a magistrate.

The Naginata Hoko depicts a chigo wearing a ceremonial robe and wearing a golden phoenix, chosen as the sacred page of a deity from among merchant houses in Kyoto. After several weeks of special ablution ceremonies, he lives in isolation from the effects of contamination (such as inappropriate food and the presence of women) and is not allowed to touch the ground, so he is placed in a wagon. At the start of the yamahoko on July 17, the chigo cuts the shimenawa with a swing of his sword.

Hoko floats

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  • Weight: about 12 tons[1]
  • Height: about 27 meters[1]
  • Wheel diameter: about 1.9 m
  • Attendants: about 30–40 pulling during procession, usually two men piloting with wedges[1]

Yama floats

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  • Weight: 1,200–1,600 kg[9]
  • Height: about 6 m
  • Attendants: 14–24 people to pull, push or carry

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Brumann, Christoph (2009). "Outside the Glass Case: The Social Life of Urban Heritage in Kyoto". American Ethnologist. 36 (2): 276–299. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2009.01135.x.
  2. ^ Como, Michael (2007). "Horses, Dragons, and Disease in Nara Japan". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 34: 407.
  3. ^ a b c Chapin, Helen B (1934). "The Gion Shrine and the Gion Festival". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 54 (3): 282–289. doi:10.2307/594168. JSTOR 594168.
  4. ^ a b c Jones, Keith (2015). Holiday Symbols and Customs. Detroit: Omnigraphics Incorporated. p. 345.
  5. ^ Teeuwen, Mark (2023). "900-1200: The Politics of Divine Wrath". Kyoto's Gion Festival: A Social History. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-22993-8.
  6. ^ "祇園祭ぎゃらりぃ | 祇園祭とは". gionmatsuri-g.com. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  7. ^ Kawabata, Yasunari. The Old Capital. Trans. J. Martin Holman. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1987. 131. Print
  8. ^ Kajitani, Nobuko and Yoshida, Kojiro (1992). 祇園祭山鉾懸装品 Gion Festival Float Tapestries. Kyoto: 祇園祭山鉾連合会 Gion Festival Float Association.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b c d Hondru, Angela (2014). "Matsuri -Essence of Japanese Spirituality-". Romanian Economic and Business Review. 9: 51.
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