It is said that the summer of Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, begins with the Gion Matsuri. It's an annual festival of Yasaka Shrine which begins July 1 and continues through July 31 every year. During this period, a series of Shinto rituals and various events take place at Yasaka Shrine and others locations in Kyoto-city.
The Gion Matsuri was started in 869 A.D when a bad plague spread in Kyoto. In the first festival, young men carried numbers of wooden floats as a divine intervention to stop the plague. The plague soon ended, and this event became a popular festival. The current form of the decorated floats appeared in the festival during the Edo period.
The highlights of the Gion Matsuri are Yoi-yama (the night before Yamahoko-junko) on the 16th and Yamahoko-junko on the 17th. Thirty two gorgeous yama-hoko floats are displayed from July 14-16, and main streets become pedestrian zones in the evening. During Yoi-yama, some houses on the Muromachi-dori and Shinmachi-dori streets open their doors to show treasured old folding screens. Festival vendors line the streets and traditional Japanese festival music (matsuri-bayashi) is played all over.
Yamahoko-junko is the procession of colorful floats through downtown Kyoto. The floats are pulled through the streets by teams of men dressed in traditional costumes. Each of the large floats carries musicians. The floats are decorated with tapestries or fabrics from Nishijin, Kyoto. Many of them were imported from India, Belgium, Persia, Turkey and other countries in the 15th century. The procession usually starts around 9 a.m. from the Shijo-Karasuma.
Kyoto is taken back in time during the Gion Matsuri festival. At this time, you see many street vendors and people wear traditional Japanese outfits.
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