Gion Matsuri

Should I or shouldn’t I? I pulled back the curtain for the third time in under five minutes. Nothing had changed. The rain was still falling as it had been for the better part of the morning judging from the collection of puddles out there in the street. It was 7am. It had been weeks since I’d woken up so early. Today was a special occasion, something I had booked the day off work for but now I stood between the should I and the shouldn’t I. Should I head to Kyoto for this special occasion or shouldn’t I just get back to bed. My three weather websites were once again locked in mortal combat each given me different weather reports. I decided to gamble on the one that said partly cloudy with sunny breaks instead of sprinkles or thunderstorms, ignoring the reality that was actually currently outside my window. I was sick of the rain, sick of staying inside and if it meant I’d be risking prolonging the flu by standing outside all day in wet clothes then so be it. It was either that or blow another three day weekend going batty inside the boiling apartment. I grabbed my coat, tossed a plastic bag in the camera case to protect the Canon from water damage, grabbed a hat to protect me from water damage and on my way to Gion Matsuri.

Gion Matsuri, the largest festival in the country, the Mardi Gras of Japan, was born out of a syphilis outbreak in 869. At least one unpopular theory states syphilis was the cause. If you go by the official documentation handed out by the tourist office, however, you will not see a single mention of syphilis with the event that would be the catalyst of this festival called only a plague or pestilence. STDs are not very marketable to the tourists, you see. They may be on to something in their ignoring of this possible history as the first outbreak of syphilis that was well documented occurred in Germany in 1494, centuries after unknown plague of whatever it was came to Japan. Whatever the case may be, as this isn’t a historical account on the history of syphilis (I know many of you will be disappointed by that, sorry Megs), the great festival of Gion Matsuri was born out of suffering caused by a mystery plague that rampaged across the country. It should be noted that while modern day historians debate the causes of this plague and what it actually may have been, the people of the time believed the plague was brought about by Gozu Tenno, the Japanese god of plague. Why even fathom up a God for such a thing? A messenger was dispatched to the Yasaka shrine in Kyoto by the emperor where he was to pray for the end of the plague. In the shrine (then called the Gion shrine) it was believed that the spirit of the Brother of the Sun Goddess was enshrined there and that said spirit had powers to combat the plague. The emperor also ordered the erecting of 66 lavishly decorated halberds (a two-handed weapon that is part axe and part staff), one for every province in the country, to be placed at the Shinsen-en Garden. Many sacred carriages belonging to the shrine were used to transport the spirit around Kyoto, then the capital of Japan. This transporting of the spirit in the carriages pulled by young men from the city as well as the surrounding farms would become the climax of Gion Matsuri. Depending on how strong your faith is in the Brother of the Sun Goddess or how strong your science is in all things must come to an end, the plague subsided and there was much rejoicing. In 970 Gion Matsuri was declared an annual festival and outside of times of war the festival has been celebrated every year in Japan making it one of the oldest festivals in the world.

Although the parade of floats taking place today is the climax of the event, Gion Matsuri runs for the entire month of July with various events. On July 1st to the 5th there are the opening ceremonies. On July 2nd there is a lottery to determine the placement order of the floats in the parade. On July 10th there is a lantern parade to welcome the portable shrines (or mikoshi), the mikoshi are washed with sacred water from the Kamo River and construction on the large floats for the parade begins.

I really didn’t know what to expect. I had only read a brief synopsis of Gion Matsuri in my Lonely Planet Guide. The night before I read the parade started at nine. My debating to come out to see it had cost me an hour and I was worried I had already missed the procession when I was assured by the tourist office in Kyoto station I still had time. I boarded a packed subway car to the next passing point on the parade route to find the area pretty devoid of people. Either those threats of thunderstorms had kept them away, this parade was really not all it was cracked up to be or they had not arrived yet. If you answered three you’d be right with a vengeance because moments after finding a choice the droves began to flood in. The street had been blocked by police cars and a barricade was set up along Oike Street. Seats were set up for those who wanted something a little more comfortable for their parade viewing experience. I didn’t think $30 was a worthy investment for something I could just as well from where I stood so I plopped down on the sidewalk, messed around with my camera settings and waited for the action. And waited…and waited…still waiting…

And then the first float could be seen far off down the street. Necks craned, people stood, I took my camera out, finger on the clicker and then it started to rain. Bloody hell! Only sprinkles so far, though, and they passed before the first float got to us. There are 32 floats in total. Parade floats are called Yamaboko and they come in two groups. Hoko floats, 9 in total, are named after the halberds and they represent those spears used for the original ritual. The 23 Yamaboko floats carry figures represent famous people in the history of the country. On the floats are hung tapestries, some the best works in the country and others imported from across the globe. Floats are adorned with treasures and ornaments from China, Persia, Korea, Holland and France to name a few locals. The parade begins when a young boy selected as a page to the sacred deity cuts a rope. Many men grab hold of the long ropes and pull the floats across Kyoto. This is considered to be a great honor to these men. The Hoko floats can weigh up to 12,000 kg while the Yama floats range between 1,200 – 1,600 kg. The large Hoko floats can be 25 meters high. 30-40 men pull the floats and 2 men act as pilots using wedges. Control and mobility did not look easy as many times I witnessed the floats bucking, some looking as though they would topple over. The men would sway their motion on the line and have things running smoothly soon enough. Turning must have taken great strength. The floats would stop at intervals. The men pulling the line would take a break while the crowds ogled the great carts. When it was time to begin again the two men at the front of the float would stand up and perform a small fan dance or sorts screaming the word “Yoi”. This ended with them pointing the fans outward and giving a large cry to which the men grabbed the ropes and began to pull once again as the audience applauded. I don’t know what any of it meant but it really got the crowd fired up. Most of the men were dressed in traditional outfits and wore large hats. The floats were very elaborate, especially the one that resembled a ship. There was a large golden bird at the front of that one. Many men were crammed into these floats ringing bells and chanting. One float had an all out production in front of it with men wearing masks on their heads and wraps to cover their faces except for one eye. These men were also dressed in bright costumes. Two o them beat a drum while another wielded a staff and twirled it quickly around him. One of the highlights for the festival onlookers was a procession of children dressed in colorful robes. They had their faces painted, sort of Geisha like, and were adorable. They received the loudest applause of the day.

The floats were very nice and all but the parade was exceptionally slow. An old man behind me leaned in and said “Sometimes this festival is very boring”. He wasn’t kidding. This was way more of a historical thing then the party I expect. I mean, I was thinking there were going to topless women and beads but I was thinking loud music, more dancing and motion outside of the cart pulling. After the kids had passed and the performance troop had finished everything started looking very similar with each float performing the same chants and actions. I was beginning to lose hope that Santa would be at the end of this thing. I think the monotony of it all began to weigh even on everybody as with a few floats left the crowd had dispersed to nearly nothing. I waited, no Santa, so I left to but not before a conversation with a very tall, long curly haired guy from Kingston, Ontario. He’d been living in Japan for a few years and worked as an editor for one of the English presses here. Not a bad gig, he said. He was a bit standoffish, a typical trait I am finding with foreign people who have lived here for awhile, so I didn’t speak to the guy long. I would later see him dressed in a kimono waving a cell phone around looking for better reception. I opted out of a second conversation. Ack, now I’m becoming standoffish! I followed the floats for a bit as they rounded corners and came to eventual stops to be taken apart. This allowed some nice, up close photography. Some guy walked up to me and started asking me random questions that had no relation to one another. He was a Japanese student studying abroad in Boston but now back for the summer. He’d been one of the cart pullers in the parade and was now helping take down the float. “Where are you from?” “Do you like baseball?” “What do you do?” “Do you like McDonalds?” The parade now over and it still being mid-afternoon I figured I’d grab some lunch and head to Gion for a little Geisha watching before heading back. My planes were derailed, though, by my spying a familiar face in the crowd.

I couldn’t place him at first, the face was familiar but not everything was coming into focus. Who was this heavyset guy on the cell phone crossing the street in front of me? Well, I’ll be damned! It was Mog! (Note I have only seen Mog in person a few times which might account for my hazy recollection. I could also be that I hadn’t had a coffee that day) I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned and looked at me first with an expression of confusion and then one of bewilderment. He told me is had just taken out his phone to give me a ring. The two of us had talked online recently about going to the festival but I hadn’t heard from him and figured he had to work. What a coinkydink! The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around with Mog, chowing down on large Wendy’s hamburgers and going in and out of various small shops. The most interesting of these shops was a place Mog introduced me to by tell me about wood blocks. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking? Big blocks of wood, right? Well, you’re not very far off. These big blocks of wood were used to carve images into that would then be pressed in ink to form prints. Some of the prints in this shop were over 200 years old and Mog was looking to impress the female form by hanging one of these beauties in his living room. The price of some of these items could feed a small country so I just observed and from a far. The paper some of these prints were made onto looked as though it would disintegrate at a slight grazing. Mog didn’t part with his savings on this day and after our lunch we continued on to the Gion area. It was exceptionally crowded there, especially the Yasaka shrine where there are hoards of people gathered to pray away their raging syphilis. Ahhh, come on, you didn’t think I was going to make an STD joke somewhere? There were so many people at the shrine offering thanks that you really couldn’t move. A very nervous Japanese student asked Mog if he had time to hear the history of Gion Matsuri. Mog, being the kind soul that he is, graced the kid with an interview. This was for a school project and all. The kid didn’t elaborate on the syphilis angle, though. We ended the day walking the Kyoto back streets towards the station, a place neither of us had been yet, unearthing odd signs like Who Killed Bambi? and the very witty shopkeepers English welcome “Open when I wake up and close when I must go”. Mog and I headed our separate ways at Kyoto Station. On the way back I felt a lot better, better then I had in weeks. The cold seemed to be lifting, for one, and it just felt really great to get outside and do something again. Sure, the weather wasn’t perfect and it did rain a touch while I was in the city but I was glad I made the gamble. The festival, though slow, was very interesting and attending the biggest festival in Japan is another thing to add to the Things I’ve Done That Are Uniquely Japanese List. Besides, it got me out of the apartment for the day and I finally was able to find a Christmas gift (early, I know) for my daughter that had a back-story I was looking for. I slept most of the way back home but was awoken a few times by an old man who was playing the bongos on his forehead. It might have been really annoying if he hadn’t been keeping such a nice beat. I refrained myself from breaking out into a chorus of Cecilia, turned to the window and watched the night roll by.

And now for the photos...enjoy!