Gion Festival week 1

16-18 July 2025

We arrived several days early in order to catch more of the Gion festival, one of the major festivals of Japan.  Originally begun to offer thanksgiving following a plague outbreak, it evolved more than 1000 years ago into an annual event becoming more ostentatious over time.  There are many components spread out over several weeks. We arrived in the middle of the Saki Matsuri or first major part, having to walk several blocks through the evening displays to get to our hotel!  We spent much of the next day tracking down a display of ikebana among the store fronts along Shijo near Yasaka Shrine.  These traditionally use hiougi or leopard aka blackberry lilies, grown in northern Kyoto Prefecture.  The ougi part of their name means folding fan and they were believed to ward off calamities...  We later found many more arrangements in and around the festival staging areas as we fought the crowds in the evening viewing of the main festival floats.  Unfortunately, the main first parade was held in pouring rain!

the ropes	Ryutou at Daimaru	Blackberry lily ikebana	mitarashidango	ikebana using Blackberry lily
ikebana using Blackberry lily	ikebana	Blackberry lily ikebana	blackberry lily	potted blackberry lily
ikebana using Blackberry lily	ikebana	ikebana using Blackberry lily	ikebana	ikebana
Blackberry lily ikebana	ikebana	ikebana using Blackberry lily	Blackberry lily ikebana	ikebana
ikebana using Blackberry lily	ikebana using Blackberry lily	store display	ikebana using Blackberry lily	miniature floats
a real float	pop-up yukata store	side street with festival float	boat shaped festival float	float figures on display
boat-shaped float	boat-shaped float	room for the axle	blackberry iris ikebana	side street with festival float
side street with festival float	main intersection	side street with festival float	side street with festival float	traffic control
side street with festival float				"manning" the temple sales
float tapestries on display	Is that a plastic cover over the paper umbrella?	ikebana and screen on display	peering in a window..	a float carrying a float carrying a praying mantis...
lantern for the praying mantis float	ikebana and screens on display	moniatures floats and Yasak Shrine gate	the chorus?	stick dancers
stick dancers	stick dancers	stick dancers	stick dancers	stick dancers
		side street with float	axle space	owl tenugui
yep, they're tall!	detail	bridge to get onto the float	bridge to get onto the float
rainy morning	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain
first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain
first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain
first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain
first float parade in the pouring rain	side street	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain
first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain
first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain
first float parade in the pouring rain - That's the praying mantis float!	first float parade in the pouring rain	first float parade in the pouring rain	dismantlng the float	review stand
those wheels aren't solid	ropes

jAlbum 12