Japan Events and Festivals

7/01/2009 - 7/31/2009Gion Festival

The Gion Festival is one of Japan's three greatest festivals and each year attracts huge crowds. The festival lasts for about one month across July with certain events - such as the ritual washing of the shrines and the Kankou Festival - are incredibly popular. But the perhaps the biggest event of the Gion Festival is the float parade (Yamaboko Jyunkou). The festival dates back to AD869 when a plague ravaged much of the city. In a bid to stem the spread of the plague, the 66 Japanese provinces each contributed a portable shrine which, as legend has it, successfully brought an end to the plague. This feeling of contribution is still so much a part of the Gion Festival that families bring out their screens and calligraphy to complement the great floats or 'hoko' which are the centrepiece of the celebrations.