Gion Matsuri -Yoiyama

I know you guys must be bored with my Gion Matsuri post since I had been posting about it since my first year here! But this year, I was armed with my new wide angle lens, so I have photos of different perspectives to share with you - only if you are interested of course!



Decided to try black and white for a while since I do have so many of the Yoiyama pictures in colour. Turned out rather okay even though I know that some people preferred them to be in colour.



With my new lenses, I could capture more details previously missing in my photographs of Yoiyama, like this one.



For those new to Gion Matsuri, this post is about Yoiyama, the night festival held for three days prior to the main float parade of the Gion Festival. For three nights - 14th to the 16th of July, the streets of Shijo and Karasuma are closed to traffic and are designated only for pedestrians to enjoy the floats and the stalls, stationed at specific places.



Stalls sold food, drinks, toys and so on for the thousands of tourists that flock to see the floats. The floats were all lighted up with lanterns and musicians on top of the floats play traditional Gion bayashi music.



Each Hoko float has its own stalls selling chimaki (wrapped rice cakes which are hung above entrances to ward against pestilence), amulets or good luck charms and float souveniours.



Some of the old houses and merchants in the district also put their heirlooms on display such as folding screens and scrolls for the public to admire. It is amazing to see their treasures, especially the old kimonos with such intricate patterns.



As usual, I went for all three nights. We were drenched the first night because of the heavy downpour but the next two nights were just nice. The crowd was unbelievable but the weather was just perfect - not too hot or humid, because of the rain.



Next post will be about the main parade. That was my first time taking pictures of the main parade with my Canon.



All information here was taken from the Gion Matsuri Yoiyama Council pamphlets.