Japan’s Gion Matsuri | Gion Festival

Japan’s Gion Matsuri Featuring diverse cultural events, elaborate decorations, spiritual rituals, and heirlooms on display, the Gion Festival in Kyoto, Japan is known in Japanese as “Gion Matsuri.”

Festival lovers will enjoy its splashes of colors on display, unusual street food, and outstanding people-watching as more than a million visitors enjoy the celebrations.

The first part of the festival, known as the Saki Matsuri, or the “early festival,” is the larger and more famous part, showcasing its 23 beautiful yamaboko floats. One of these is the famous Naginata float, the first in the annual July 17 procession. It’s known for its magical long sword (“naginata”) and children in costume performing a special dance.

The week-long Ato Matsuri, or “later festival,” peaks on July 24 with a procession of 11 floats in the morning, and the three mikoshi portable shrines at night. It’s a quieter time than the Saki Matsuri. It’s beloved by people who remember the community-oriented Gion Festival before it became so famous (and crowded).

A World Heritage Event, the Gion Matsuri lasts throughout the entire month of July. It began more than 1000 years ago, and has constantly adapted to changes to survive and thrive until today. Officially speaking, it’s a gigantic Shinto purification ritual, made up of countless smaller rituals. Shinto is Japan’s nature-based spiritual tradition, a kind of animism or shamanism. Some believe that the Gion Matsuri holds deep meaning, and has positive impact on anyone who participates or attends.

The main events include the display of ‘yama’ and ‘hoko’ before the procession takes places. The festive evenings are filled with ‘Yoiyoiyama’ and ‘Yoiyoiyoiyama’. There are numerous floating boats which are accompanied by the procession of ‘Mikoshi’ which takes place around mid-July. It starts from Yasaka shrine and ends at ‘Otabishu’. It is later returned to the Shrine.

A beautiful amalgamation of historicity and Japan’s age-old cultural tradition, the Gion Festival brings the people of Tokyo together to enjoy the purification festival and ward off the evil, bringing prosperity to the place. The whole sight is wonderful to see and leaves you wanting for more!