Gion 08

No Japanese summer would be complete without mention of the Gion Festival; arguably the most famous of the nations myriad of such celebratory offerings.

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the late ninth century and attempts by the then emperor to appease supposedly ill-tempered gods thought responsible for wreaking havoc on the nation by way of repeated natural disasters. Locals at the time were told to go to Yasaka Shrine in the east of the city where their prayers, coupled with 66 specially decorated halberds representing the number of districts ancient Japan contained, was thought to calm the anger of the country’s deities.

A century later, in 970AD, the event had become big enough to warrant continued imperial attention, and was soon thereafter turned into an annual celebration-cum-chance to repent for the sins of the previous year became a fixture on the domestic calendar in the hope of keeping the gods at bay.

By the Middle Ages, the festival had lost much of its religious significance, so much so that when the ruling shogunate sought to put an end to the event in a clampdown on religious celebrations, the protests of the locals implied that the ritualized portion of the festivities were of no real interest and could be done away with, but to prevent them from enjoying the accompanying parade of floats would be more than they could bear.

Today, the parade retains its cultural significance and is by far the single most aspect of things Gion, drawing in millions of spectators, oftentimes from all corners of the world with little, if any, importance now attached to the religious practices still carried out at Yasaka Shrine.

Coming on the 17th of the month long festivities, however, the main parade is preceded by a fortnight of rituals to cleanse the items to be used in the float, time needed to prepare for the upcoming events and customs enabling children to get in on the action.

The oddly named yoiyama (14th), yoiyoiyama (15th) and yoiyoiyoiyama (16th) events in the middle of the month lead up to the 17th and serve to build up the tension as street sellers appear in cordoned off pedestrian precincts offering the usual mid-summer Japanese snacks such as yakitori skewered chicken, boiled green beans, beverages galore and souvenirs to take to those not able to attend.

And then comes the big day – July 17th – the day numerous yamaboko (floats on wheels) and mikoshi (portable shrine) parade around the centre of the ancient capital; an event the whole city focuses on for at least a few hours, the nation at large, too during their nightly news shows.

With some of the yamaboko weighing up to 12 tons and standing a good 8 metres in height (25m in the most extreme cases if counting the reach of the ornamental features atop the roof), the sight of these ancient form vehicles turning corners at great speed as they pivot on their 2m diameter wheels is awe inspiring to say the least.

Each large yamaboko require a good 30-40 men to shift it, the mikoshi fewer in number but those taking part do so with equal pride in their appearance and the neighborhood marking mini-shrine they are fortunate enough to be carrying as they make their way to the still focal Yasaka Shrine.

As festivities go through the night, the loud become boisterous, the shy sing, and the timid cast off any pretext of disinterest as one and all, old and young, Japanese and foreign become one noisy mass of humanity

The next morning – all is silence.

A few of those who overdid it slumber in the streets and will awake to a hangover that will take days to shake off. Karaoke places in and around the Gion area say goodbye to their last customers as the day breaks and normalcy returns – for a few days.

A week later and all is repeated although on a smaller, winding down scale, with the mikoshi again tracing their steps to Yasaka Shrine, before the 28th of the month sees the ritual cleansing of the portable shrines using water from the Kammo River running through the city, and a service to close the festivities at Eki Shrine on the 31st puts a cap on Gion, her matsuri and the madness associated with one of the biggest, brashest and boldest events on the nation’s calendar.

Link: (E/J Gion Matsuri)
http://www.gionmatsuri.jp/manu/manual.html