Gion Matsuri - Yamaboko Junko series

Posted by Celialee (Kyoto, Japan) on 7 August 2007 in Lifestyle & Culture and Portfolio.

These boys were so cute in their outfits. They were part of the group that preceded their float during the Yamaboko Junko (Float Parade).

Gion Matsuri - A traditional festival held at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto for more than 1100 years. The festival was first held in 869 when a plague swept the country and epople believed it was a curse of Gozu Tenno. Sixty six pikes representing the provinces of the time were erected at Shinsen-en Garden, south of where Nijo castle now stands. The Gion gods were celebrated and portable shrines were paraded through the streets as the people prayed for an abatement of the pestilence. This is the origin of the Gion Goryo, a ceremony for the dead.
(From the Gion Matsuri Yoiyama Council Guide)

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