Shining as the best-known festival in Japan, the Gion Festival takes place every year over the whole month of July. It’s a testimony to the community spirit of downtown Kyotoites that this annual festival has taken place almost continuously since it started in the year 869.
While consisting of an array of events, the most visually stunning are the two grand processions of floats (Yamaboko Junko) on July 17th and 24th. The procession won recognition as a cultural World Heritage event by UNESCO in 2009.
During the days leading up to the processions, visitors can watch the gigantic float structures being built and adorned with treasures. Wandering the streets rewards us with cultural riches displayed at the floats and in private homes.
The three nights before the processions (called yoiyama) offer diverse feasts for the senses, including phenomenal people watching. We can enjoy getting lost in the crowds amidst the otherworldly music, boisterous festival street life and intriguing food stalls.
The festival originated with a ritual in the year 869, to placate angry spirits believed to be casting pestilence upon the Kyoto populace. Later that morphed into an annual ritual of processions to please nearby Yasaka Shrine’s residing deities, and to request purification of any harmful energy for the year.
Fast-forward to the 20th century, and modern hygiene relieved Kyotoites of the illnesses related to its mid-summer rainy season. However, the torrential rains continue to fall every July, reminding us of the festival’s raison-d’etre. When festival-goers feel oppressed by the heat and humidity or occasionally get caught in a downpour, what can we do, other than step into a dry and cool shopfront, and pray for relief?
Weather doesn’t deter many. More than a million visitors a year testify to the spectacular nature of the Gion Festival.
Read more- https://www.gionfestival.org/blog/japans-most-famous-festival-2/
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