Kyoto’s Gion Festival is very much about life and death. How so? The Gion Matsuri provides a framework for participants to connect with the supernatural world. And thereby better appreciate our daily life.
Some Gion Festival participants pray for the spirits of those who have died (similar to Japan’s Obon holiday in August). In particular, historically, people prayed to the Gion Festival deities to help humans survive Kyoto’s rainy season.
Until penicillin came to Japan in the 1950s, the month-long rains led to standing water, flooding, and hygiene-related sicknesses. Before modern medicine, summer deaths were not unusual. Summer rains made for a fearful season.
Read full more here - https://www.gionfestival.org/blog/the-gion-festival-life-death-and-spiritual-transformation/
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