Posted
on July 17, 2013
When
downtown is closed to autos, and people walk about every night eating
treats and meat skewers purchased from food stalls...
...And
private houses in the old kimono merchant district open to the public
and show off their family heirlooms...
...You
know it's Gion Matsuri!
This
is one of Japan's most famous festivals, held every year in Kyoto.
And tonight is the biggest night of all – the night of the parade,
complete with floats and marchers in traditional regalia.
Matsuri
means “festival,” and Gion is the name of the kimono
district of Kyoto.
This
festival started as a purification ritual to appease gods, in an
attempt to avoid disasters that angry gods might inflict on people,
such as floods, earthquakes, fires, and plagues. However, in the
1500s the government halted all religious events. The people
complained. They didn't seem to mind giving up the talk about
appeasing gods; they were fine without the purification rituals—but
they insisted on keeping their parade!
So
it is that the festival developed its modern secular nature.
These
floats don't exactly float!
There
are nine of the larger Hoko floats, which tower about 25 meters (82
feet) from ground to tip and weigh about 12,000 kg (more than 26
thousand pounds)! Each of these floats requires 30 to 40 attendants
pulling plus two pilots. There are 23 of the smaller Yama floats,
which require a mere 14 to 24 people to pull, push, or carry. They
are only 6 meters (19 feet) tall and weight less than 2,000 kg (4,400
pounds).
The
Hoko floats represent old provinces of Japan, and the Yama floats
carry life-size figures of famous people. Both sorts of floats are
beautifully decorated with tapestries and art and carry traditional
musicians and artists.
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest pages on July
holidays, historical
anniversaries in July,
and July
birthdays.
And
here are my Pinterest pages on August
holidays, historical
anniversaries in August,
and August
birthdays.
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