Yamaboko Junko
This morning is the procession of the floats through Kyoto.
It’s supposed to be 97 degrees today with 80% humidity. I am working on getting hydrated and encouraging Owen to do the same.
I understand that part of the intent of this parade is withstanding pain and adversity, both for the participants and spectators. We’ll see how we do.
Bad Kami
On a side note, I may have picked up a bad kami. Perhaps, it is when I cursed the wind and rain on Fuji.
Susanoo (素戔嗚)
In any case, I keep dropping things: chop sticks, coins, my bag, and the other night a small bottle of saki which exploded in the convenience store and shattered. The store worker was very nice about it and was relieved when I offered to pay for it. I even pulled an unlucky fortune last night at the festival. It said that I would do poorly in trade, that I need to improve my faith in God, and that I should beware of the North Wind. Perhaps withstanding discomfort at the parade today will be just the thing.
I tied the fortune to the rack were bad fortunes are meant to be left.
I would have liked to have pulled a good fortune. People with good fortunes took their fortunes to the priest and received a bag of dried rice stalks. I am still going to express thanks for my good fortune as we visit shrines to be here traveling with my son.
Procession
Owen and I were able to get great spots for the procession. We were in the shade and we we next to where each float stops to present papers and a bundle of rice to an official.
The floats were larger than I could have imagined. It takes many men to pull them while many others ride on them. Owen and I were wondering how someone gets selected to pull while others are selected to ride.
Owen stayed to watch several floats but got hot and tired. I stuck around to watch several more floats and take pictures. Sadly, with my current luck, I accidentally deleted the photos as I was messing with settings on the camera.
The smaller floats were as interesting as the large ones.
Kamogawa River
After some lunch, I headed back to our place and admired the Kamogawa river.
It turns out that Owen went wading with some locals to cool off and dropped his phone in the river. He had to swim down into a pool to get it. He didn’t mind because it was blazing hot.
Kenninji Temple
while Owen was making like a wild duck, I ducked into the Kenninji Temple.
The temple is the oldest Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. Some great paintings were displayed there.
The following images are wall (curtain) paintings.
I was sweating bullets and had to get back to our place. On my way out, I realized that I missed the actual temple with it’s golden Buddha.
I think I’ll try to go back before we leave.
Owen and I regrouped and were about sick with heat stroke but we had to return the yukata to the rental shop.
We made it back and crashed out in the air conditioned room.
We have since recovered and bathed and are about to go out. Owen has some spots he has discovered that he wants to show me.
Pontocho
I read about an area of Kyoto where there are small streets packed with small restaurants so we went over to Pontocho.
It became clear that many other tourists read about this district. We could hear every world language except Japanese. It seems like Pontocho is a “tourist trap”. At least during the festival it is.
We high tailed it out of there even though we were starving.
Thankfully, Owen found a Chinese restaurant that was packed with Japanese in very lively spirits.
More Festival
I don’t know why I thought that the festival would slow down or shut down after the procession. If anything, it kicked up a notch.
The men pulling the floats had apparently started partying after their ordeal. The streets were full of half dressed float pullers.
A real treat was when we would stumble upon the temple relics being toted around town by groups of unruly bearers.
After some research, I’ve discovered that the procession during the days was to prepare the streets for the relics to be carried around town.
Shinkösai
I know that one of the relics is for Susano-no-Mikoto. It is called the Sanwaka. It’s six-sided and topped with a phoenix that holds a rice plant in its beak.
Another is for his consort Princess Kushi Inada (Kushinadahime). It is four-sided and topped with a round jewel. It is called the Shiwaka.
The third relic contains the deities of the eight children of Susano-o and Kushi-Inada. It’s eight-sided, topped with a phoenix, and weighs about two tons. It is called the Nishiki.
We had a great evening cruising around, enjoying the Japanese out having a great time and occasionally running into a procession of the artifacts.
The Gion Matsuri is a festival that has gone on for 1500 years! It is meant to keep pestilence that would accompany the rainy season away from Kyoto. Men of all ages participate in the processions.
