Gion Matsuri
This is going to be a very long post as there are a lot of pictures. A friend of mine had already posted this topic on his site.
This matsuri or festival was organized by the head priest of the Yasaka Jinja back in 898 AD during a time when Kyoto was troubled by plague. This procession of floats and carriages was designed to appease the Shinto Gods so that the plague would end. When it ended, this matsuri still continued and remained very popular till this day. It is so popular that many will travel from all over Japan just to attend this festival. In fact it is one of Japan's most famous festival. During the 15th century, wealthy citizens decorated the floats with rich and colourful materials or ornaments that were imported from other countries, which you will see in the photos. It is a month long festival, of which the highlight would be the Yamahoko junko or the parade of floats. Before the main parade (Yamahoko Junko) day on the 17th of July, night festivals will be held where visitors get to see the floats on display, all lighted up with beautiful lanterns and stuff themselves with food and beer.
Yamahoko Junko
I am going to start off first with the parade and then move on to the night festival. The parade consists of two kinds of floats: Yama - carried by men on their shoulders using long poles and Hoko - pulled by men using ropes and wheels.
The procession will be led by the Naginata Boko (a Hoko float) which is the one in this picture, every year. It is the only float which has a boy chosen to be the celestial or sacred child whereas the rest have only puppets. He is at the front side of the boat, sitting at the top. The rest of the floats will be have to obey the order drawn by the Mayor of Kyoto. Naginata means halbeard, a weapon believed to have the power to exorcise the evil spirits causing the plague.
The celestial boy, who is flanked by two page boys (not in the picture).
Hosho Yama float, carried by 16 men, the figure representing the warrior Hosho risking his life to get the plum blossoms for his lady friend from the Emperor's garden. It is worshipped as the God of love and apparently you can get talisments for happy marriage in front of the boat.
Before each Yama or Hoko, there will be a parade of men preceeding it, who are probably from the society, association, temple or shrine involved with the float.
A look at the back part of the Kikusui Boko float. See the intricate tapestry? Gorgeous.
Men or boys playing the traditional instruments on top of the Hoko floats. See the beautiful decorations of tapestry hanging at the side of the float?
One of the highlights of the parade is the to watch the turning of the floats when they reach the street corner. They have to be positioned correctly at a precise angle in order for the turning to be smooth and to complete the turn in one pull. Here are the men laying out strips of bamboo on the road and later on water, which will facilitate the turning of the boat. Very interesting.
The men now getting ready to turn the float, making sure that everything is in proper order.
The turning of the float. You can see the effort that goes into the action. It is very exciting to watch and you cheer as you see them turn the float in one smooth action. Those who succeed will get applause from the appreciative crowd, whereas those who failed on the first attempt will get encouragement. The four men in the front with the fans are the ones giving the "go" word.
Boys joining the parade. Drummer boys?
The Hoko men, waiting for further instructions. Haha, sexy legs? Nice hats though.
The men standing in front of the Hoko floats giving instructions or to bolster the men's spirit during the parade.
Making sure that the wheels are moving smoothly.
On the top of the Iwato Yama float. I have no idea who the figure represents. But according to the legend, this boat is dedicated to the sun goddess.
Also during the turning of the float, this time, I centered on the "men with fans"'s faces. Er, not sure what they are called though. Can somebody help me out?
One of the more interesting floats: Fune Boko. Built in the shape of an ancient ship. According to legend, this boat was used to ferry the Empress Jingu Kogo, also known as God of safe delivery.
The front view of the Fune Boko. Gorgeous, isn't it?
Close-up view of the Fune Boko.
Gion Matsuri at Night
Before the parade, the Yama and Hoko floats are erected at specific spots along the main streets in Kyoto City, giving visitors a chance to see the boats up close, take pictures or even, for a certain amount of money, to get into to the floats and admire the interior.
The floats on display along the Shijo street. See the crowd? This week, Monday is a holiday and the parade is on a sunday. Long weekend = HUGE crowd.
Picture of a young girl wearing a yukata which is the summer kimono, getting into one of the floats. Yukatas are usually made of cotton and are light and easy to wear during summer, when compared to the kimono. Girls and women will be wearing yukatas during the Gion festival.
Close up of the lanterns hung in front of the floats. In the background, you can see the bird statue of the Fune Boko.
The Naginata Boko float all lit up. The musicians will be playing traditional music throughout the night.
Close up of the musicians. It is a hot night.
Gorgeous lanterns on display in front of the floats. Beautiful light emminating from them, giving the area a nice glow.
Little girls, all dressed in yukatas, participating in an event. Picture has been altered with Photoshop using teardrop to get rid of the grainy effect.
Besides seeing or posing in front of the floats, you can shop around. You can buy yukatas, kimonos, bags etc for a bargain here at the street stalls. Got myself a nice green yukata with a simple pattern of dragonflies and water ripples in white for only 1000¥! Pictured here are getas, which are the sandals worn together with the yukatas. It is made out of wood and cloth.
Food stalls are everywhere and you can eat till you drop. Or drink till you drop. Pictured here is the okonomiyaki which is like a Japanese pancake.
These are sticky rice flour balls which will be dipped into a sweet sauce. I honestly thought they were fish balls and I bought a stick for 500¥ (expensive!) only to realise it was not fish!!
These octopus pieces will be added to a mixture of flour, pickles, cabbage and chopped onion to make takoyaki.
For those with a sweet tooth, then this will satisfy you. Strawberries dipped in melted sugar syrup.
My friends who went with me. From the left Yumiko-san, Shiori-san and Basak-san.
Somushi
Somushi is a korean restaurant which we stumbled upon along the way. Or rather, it was only I who thought so. Probably my friends knew about its existence. A very nicely decorated restaurant, beautiful interior design and lovely deserts. Love the interesting blend of tea they serve there.
That is the bar, which was uniquely designed cause we were sitting on a platform, raised high enough so that those working or standing behind the bar will be at face level with us.
Another corner of the restaurant with lovely carved wooden tables and chairs.
Another view of the bar.
My fancy water glass on the wooden table which was decorated with dried berries. On the background is Kagaya-san, whom we met later in the day.
This matsuri or festival was organized by the head priest of the Yasaka Jinja back in 898 AD during a time when Kyoto was troubled by plague. This procession of floats and carriages was designed to appease the Shinto Gods so that the plague would end. When it ended, this matsuri still continued and remained very popular till this day. It is so popular that many will travel from all over Japan just to attend this festival. In fact it is one of Japan's most famous festival. During the 15th century, wealthy citizens decorated the floats with rich and colourful materials or ornaments that were imported from other countries, which you will see in the photos. It is a month long festival, of which the highlight would be the Yamahoko junko or the parade of floats. Before the main parade (Yamahoko Junko) day on the 17th of July, night festivals will be held where visitors get to see the floats on display, all lighted up with beautiful lanterns and stuff themselves with food and beer.
Yamahoko Junko
I am going to start off first with the parade and then move on to the night festival. The parade consists of two kinds of floats: Yama - carried by men on their shoulders using long poles and Hoko - pulled by men using ropes and wheels.
The procession will be led by the Naginata Boko (a Hoko float) which is the one in this picture, every year. It is the only float which has a boy chosen to be the celestial or sacred child whereas the rest have only puppets. He is at the front side of the boat, sitting at the top. The rest of the floats will be have to obey the order drawn by the Mayor of Kyoto. Naginata means halbeard, a weapon believed to have the power to exorcise the evil spirits causing the plague.
The celestial boy, who is flanked by two page boys (not in the picture).
Hosho Yama float, carried by 16 men, the figure representing the warrior Hosho risking his life to get the plum blossoms for his lady friend from the Emperor's garden. It is worshipped as the God of love and apparently you can get talisments for happy marriage in front of the boat.
Before each Yama or Hoko, there will be a parade of men preceeding it, who are probably from the society, association, temple or shrine involved with the float.
A look at the back part of the Kikusui Boko float. See the intricate tapestry? Gorgeous.
Men or boys playing the traditional instruments on top of the Hoko floats. See the beautiful decorations of tapestry hanging at the side of the float?
One of the highlights of the parade is the to watch the turning of the floats when they reach the street corner. They have to be positioned correctly at a precise angle in order for the turning to be smooth and to complete the turn in one pull. Here are the men laying out strips of bamboo on the road and later on water, which will facilitate the turning of the boat. Very interesting.
The men now getting ready to turn the float, making sure that everything is in proper order.
The turning of the float. You can see the effort that goes into the action. It is very exciting to watch and you cheer as you see them turn the float in one smooth action. Those who succeed will get applause from the appreciative crowd, whereas those who failed on the first attempt will get encouragement. The four men in the front with the fans are the ones giving the "go" word.
Boys joining the parade. Drummer boys?
The Hoko men, waiting for further instructions. Haha, sexy legs? Nice hats though.
The men standing in front of the Hoko floats giving instructions or to bolster the men's spirit during the parade.
Making sure that the wheels are moving smoothly.
On the top of the Iwato Yama float. I have no idea who the figure represents. But according to the legend, this boat is dedicated to the sun goddess.
Also during the turning of the float, this time, I centered on the "men with fans"'s faces. Er, not sure what they are called though. Can somebody help me out?
One of the more interesting floats: Fune Boko. Built in the shape of an ancient ship. According to legend, this boat was used to ferry the Empress Jingu Kogo, also known as God of safe delivery.
The front view of the Fune Boko. Gorgeous, isn't it?
Close-up view of the Fune Boko.
Gion Matsuri at Night
Before the parade, the Yama and Hoko floats are erected at specific spots along the main streets in Kyoto City, giving visitors a chance to see the boats up close, take pictures or even, for a certain amount of money, to get into to the floats and admire the interior.
The floats on display along the Shijo street. See the crowd? This week, Monday is a holiday and the parade is on a sunday. Long weekend = HUGE crowd.
Picture of a young girl wearing a yukata which is the summer kimono, getting into one of the floats. Yukatas are usually made of cotton and are light and easy to wear during summer, when compared to the kimono. Girls and women will be wearing yukatas during the Gion festival.
Close up of the lanterns hung in front of the floats. In the background, you can see the bird statue of the Fune Boko.
The Naginata Boko float all lit up. The musicians will be playing traditional music throughout the night.
Close up of the musicians. It is a hot night.
Gorgeous lanterns on display in front of the floats. Beautiful light emminating from them, giving the area a nice glow.
Little girls, all dressed in yukatas, participating in an event. Picture has been altered with Photoshop using teardrop to get rid of the grainy effect.
Besides seeing or posing in front of the floats, you can shop around. You can buy yukatas, kimonos, bags etc for a bargain here at the street stalls. Got myself a nice green yukata with a simple pattern of dragonflies and water ripples in white for only 1000¥! Pictured here are getas, which are the sandals worn together with the yukatas. It is made out of wood and cloth.
Food stalls are everywhere and you can eat till you drop. Or drink till you drop. Pictured here is the okonomiyaki which is like a Japanese pancake.
These are sticky rice flour balls which will be dipped into a sweet sauce. I honestly thought they were fish balls and I bought a stick for 500¥ (expensive!) only to realise it was not fish!!
These octopus pieces will be added to a mixture of flour, pickles, cabbage and chopped onion to make takoyaki.
For those with a sweet tooth, then this will satisfy you. Strawberries dipped in melted sugar syrup.
My friends who went with me. From the left Yumiko-san, Shiori-san and Basak-san.
Somushi
Somushi is a korean restaurant which we stumbled upon along the way. Or rather, it was only I who thought so. Probably my friends knew about its existence. A very nicely decorated restaurant, beautiful interior design and lovely deserts. Love the interesting blend of tea they serve there.
That is the bar, which was uniquely designed cause we were sitting on a platform, raised high enough so that those working or standing behind the bar will be at face level with us.
Another corner of the restaurant with lovely carved wooden tables and chairs.
Another view of the bar.
My fancy water glass on the wooden table which was decorated with dried berries. On the background is Kagaya-san, whom we met later in the day.
posted by AL LEE at 11:05 PM
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