Gion Matsuri – The Most Famous Festival in Japan

Gion Matsuri (祇園祭), the Yasaka Shrine festival in Kyoto, is the most famous festival in Japan taking place throughout the month of July . There are many different events, but the grand float procession ( Yamaboko Junko ) on July 17 is the star show at the Festival.

In the Matsuri people usually wear Yukata as they are cooler to wear in the summer.

The Gion Matsuri dates back to the year 869 as a religious ceremony to appease the gods during the outbreak of an epidemic. Even today the festival continues the practice of selecting a local boy to be a divine messenger . The boy cannot step on the ground from the 13th until after he has been walked around the city on the 17th.

Something curious about the Gion Matsuri is that its celebration does not take place in the Gion district, but on the opposite side of the Kamo River. For three days before the procession, the respective yama and hoko are displayed half a kilometer from the intersection. While on display, some of the floats on Karasuma and Shijo streets can be entered.

The mikoshi procession

The busiest and liveliest time in this area is at night. From 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. the streets become pedestrianized and the area is filled with food stalls, drink vendors and other stalls related to the festival. These nights that precede the procession are known as Yoiyama (16th of July), Yoiyoiyama (July 15) and Yoiyoiyoiyama (July 14). Similar festivities are also held on the three nights leading up to the July 24 procession, although on a smaller scale.

The processions of floats, the well-known Yamaboko Junko , take place between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on the 17th and from 9:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. on the 24th. They travel 3 km through Shijo streets, Kawaramachi and Oike. You can pay for seats set up in front of the city hall (4,100 yen approx. advance reservation required), but since the procession has a fairly long route and duration, you can also find good spots in other places to admire without problems.

These floats are so large and heavy that the strength of dozens of people is required to move them.

The mikoshi procession (a portable shrine carried from temple to temple) takes place on the 17th, beginning at Yasaka Shrine and ending at Otabisho. The event involves carrying the shrine deity off the shrine grounds and through the city in a mikoshi. On the 24th, the mikoshi returns to the shrine.