My Gion Matsuri fieldwork began in mid-July 1993 when I was working as a regional correspondent for The Japan Times newspaper. I also lived in the heart of the Gion Matsuri yamaboko floats neighborhood. Every time I walked out my door, the treasures adorning the yamaboko bedazzled me. The Gion Matsuri textiles, in particular, captured my attention. Where were they from? What stories did they tell? How did they end up in the Gion Festival? I wondered.
I wrote two articles for The Japan Times about the July 1993 Gion Festival. Despite the passage of time, these articles still provide valuable background for the Gion Matsuri we enjoy today. I share the first one with you here, and stay tuned for the second one, to come.
Their research has revealed that some of the pieces, which must brave the elements every year during the festival procession, are artworks of international importance worthy of preservation in a museum.
“There are so many of these tapestries that they’re considered folk art instead of important works of art,” said Nobuko Kajitani, textile conservator from the Metropolitan.
Even the government’s Cultural Properties Protection Department does not appreciate the value of the pieces, she said during a visit here last week to finish a book on the festival to be published by the museum next year.
Know more- https://www.gionfestival.org/blog/gionmatsuritextiles/
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