- Home
- Biwa-hono of Gion Matsuri (July 23rd, 2024)
Biwa-hono of Gion Matsuri (July 23rd, 2024)
Biwa-hono of Gion Matsuri
The information of Biwa-hono is presented here. Biwa-hono is held every year on July 23rd. In Biwa-hono, the Kyoto Biwa Association, which consists of various biwa schools, performs biwa on Noh stage. In Gion Goryoe, which is said to be the origin of Gion Matsuri Festival, kabu (songs and dances) were performed to comfort the angry spirits and to pray for the eradication of bad luck and disease.
【Biwa-hono 2024 Schedule (confirmation required)】
Biwa-hono 2024 will be held on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024, at 13:00.
●Gion Matsuri Festival 2024 will start on July 1st, 2024 and end on July 31st, 2024.
Gion Matsuri Festival Schedule (July 1st-31st)
【Yasaka Shrine Location Map & Directions】
Address: 625 Gion-machi kitagawa, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Access (How to get there): Gion bus stop (short walk), Keihan Gion Shijo Station (about 5 minutes on foot), Hankyu Kyoto Kawaramachi Station (about 8 minutes on foot), Subway Shijo Station (about 20 minutes on foot)
【Biwa-hono of Gion Matsuri brief overview】
Biwa-hono (琵琶奉納) of Gion Matsuri Festival (祇園祭) is held every year on July 23rd. In Biwa-hono, the Kyoto Biwa Association, which consists of various biwa schools, such as Satsuma-ryu School, Chikuzen-ryu School, and Kinshin-ryu School, performs biwa on Noh stage. In the past, performances such as Junrei Otsuru, Tsuchigumo, Ibaraki, Atsumori, Jakkoin, Kumagaya to Atsumori, Yugao, Yamabushi Setai, Miyakoochi, Furin Kazan, Rashomon, Kesa to Morito, and Byakotai were dedicated. In Gion Goryoe, which is said to be the origin of Gion Matsuri Festival, kabu (songs and dances) were performed to comfort the angry spirits and to pray for the eradication of bad luck and disease.
★No-butai (Noh stage) was built between 1893 and 1898. No-butai (Noh Stage) has a tile roof. No-butai (Noh stage) is used for the dedication of Noh plays and Karuta initiation ceremonies on January 3rd every year. Traditional performing arts, Iwami Kagura and Kyogen are dedicated at No-butai (Noh Stage).
★Biwa is a musical instrument that is played by plucking the strings without using a bow. Biwa was introduced from To (China) during the Nara period (710-794). Radenshidan gogen-biwa (five-stringed biwa), presented to the 45th Emperor Shomu (701-756), is housed in Shosoin and is said to be the only remaining ancient gogen-biwa (five-stringed biwa) in the world today. There were two types of Biwa, gogen-biwa (five-stringed biwa) and shigen-biwa (four-stringed biwa), but gogen-biwa has become extinct, and only shigen-biwa has survived to the present day. There are several types of biwa, including the satsuma-biwa, chikuzen-biwa, raku-biwa, heike-biwa, moso-biwa, and kara-biwa.
★Gion Goryoe, which is said to be the origin of Gion Matsuri Festival held in 869 in the early Heian period (794-1185). In Gion Goryoe, Urabe no Hiramaro erected 66 hoko (spears), which is the same as the number of countries in Japan, in Shinsen-en Garden (Imperial Garden), transferred the evil spirits to the spears to purify them, enshrined Gozutenno, who is said to be the incarnation of Yakushi Nyorai, and sent three mikoshi (portable shrines) from Yasaka Shrine, which enshrined Gozutenno as the main daiety.
【Biwa-hono of Gion Matsuri 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・・・)