Aburatenjin Yama of Gion Matsuri Festival

The information of Aburatenjin Yama is presented here. Aburatenjin Yama is a small-sized Yamahoko float (Kakiyama float), and its symbol is a pine tree reaching vertically to the sky. Aburatenjin Yama originated from the solicitation of Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane), who was enshrined in Kazahayacho (town). Aburatenjin Yama is also called “Ushitenjin Yama” because the day Aburatenjin Yama solicited Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) was the day of the ox (ushi).

• Location Map ＆ Directions
• History and Brief Overview
• Features (subject to change)
• Events (confirmation required)

【Aburatenjin Yama Location Map ＆ Directions】

Address: Kazahaya-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Access (How to get there): Subway Shijo Station (about 15 minutes on foot), Hankyu Karasuma Station (about 17 minutes on foot)
Location: Aburatenjin Yama is located on Aburanokoji-dori, about 30 meters north of the intersection of Aburanokoji-dori (north-south) and Bukkoji-dori (east-west).

【Aburatenjin Yama History and Brief Overview】

★The origin of Aburatenjin Yama (油天神山) is not clear. Aburatenjin Yama is not mentioned in the “Gionshaki (Records of Yasaka Shrine)”, which describes the names of Yamahoko floats and places in the middle of the Muromachi period (1336-1573) before the Onin War (1467-1477), and it is said that Aburatenjin Yama was founded after the Onin War.

★Aburatenjin Yama originated from the solicitation of Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane), who had long been enshrined in Kazahayacho (town) on Aburakoji-dori. Sugawara no Michizane loved plums so much that when he was demoted to to Dazaifu (Fukuoka), he composed a waka poem in the Kobaiden (Red Plum Hall), “kochifukaba nihohiokoseyo umenohana shunashitote haruwowasuruna (When the east wind blows, let the plum blossoms bloom, without a master, and don’t forget the spring.”) After that, the legend of Tobiume (Flying Plum) was born, which is said to have admired Sugawara no Michizane and flew from Kyoto to Dazaifu (Fukuoka) in one night. For this reason, the chimaki of Aburatenjin Yama is decorated with plum blossoms. Aburatenjin Yama is also called “Ushitenjin Yama” because the day Aburatenjin Yama invoked Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) was the day of the ox (ushi). Sugawara no Michizane is associated with both the ox (ushi) and the plum. The ox (ushi) is derived from “Sugawara no Michizane was born in the year of the ox”, “Sugawara no Michizane died on the ox day of the ox month”, “The location of Sugawara no Michizane’s grave was decided by the ox”, etc., and the ox (ushi) is said to be the messenger of Sugawara no Michizane.
★Sugawara no Michizane was born as the third son of the court noble Sugawara no Koreyoshi. He excelled in waka and Chinese poetry from an early age, passing the monjosho examination in 862 and becoming a monjotokugosho (excellent student) in 867. In 899, he was appointed the Sanuki-no-kami (Kagawa) and moved to Sanuki Province (Kagawa), but in 890 he returned to Kyoto as a close associate of the 59th Emperor Uda, and was later promoted to the sangi and the kugyo. Then, in 899, he was appointed as the udaijin (the right minister), but, shortly thereafter, he was demoted to Dazaifu (Fukuoka) by the informing of the sadaijin (the left minister) Fujiwara no Tokihira, and his four children were also exiled, and he died in Dazaifu (Fukuoka) in 903.
*reference・・・Aburatenjin Yama website

【Features (subject to change)】

★Aburatenjin Yama weighs about 0.55 tons. (2008 Data) Aburatenjin Yama is marked by a pine tree reaching into the sky.
★The statue of Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) was created in 1630 in the early Edo period (1603-1868), and was handed down from the Kazahaya family to the town and enshrined. The statue of Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) is enshrined in a gold-leafed shrine at the top of the mountain, built with a vermilion Torii gate. In addition, the board painting of the shrine hall is said to be the brush of Kano Masunobu. The pine tree has a branch of the red plum tree that Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) loved so much, and a bell is attached to it.
★In 2006, the mizuhiki was replaced by the tapestry design of the “Shoyo Senka-zu (Flying Falcons and Thousands of Flowers)” from the Cruny Museum in Paris. The shusuzukin with a cloud-dragon design of the mae-kake (front) was replaced by the nishikiori with the “Ryu-zu (dragon design)” in 1994, the 19th century Kazakh carpet of the do-kake (side) was replaced by the “Kohakubai-zu (red and white tree design)” by an original painting by Maeda Seison in 2000 and 2001, and the ketsudure with the “Kyutei Enyu-zu (Court Banquet)” of the miokuri was replaced by the tsudurenishiki with the “Choyo-zu (Morning Sun)” by an original painting by Umehara Ryuzaburo in 1990.
★Chimaki, which has the benefits of academic achievement, ema (votive picture tablet), sensu (fans), amulets for academic achievement, etc. are available for purchase.

【Events (confirmation required)】

★In Former Festival Yoiyama from July 14th to July 16th, Komagata-chochin lanterns of Aburatenjin Yama are lit and Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) is played in the evening.
★In Former Festival Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade) on July 17th, Yamahoko floats, including Aburatenjin Yama depart from Shijo-Karasuma and parade along Shijo-dori, Kawaramachi-dori, and Oike-dori.

【Aburatenjin Yama of Gion Matsuri remarks】
*Events may be rescheduled or cancelled. Also, the content of the event may have changed.
祇園祭2025日程一覧（宵山屋台・山鉾巡行・・・）