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De-bayashi of Gion Matsuri (the beginning of July, 2024)
De-bayashi of Gion Matsuri
The information of De-bayashi is presented here. De-bayashi is held every year around July 9th. In De-bayashi, Hayashi-kata (music group) of Kikusui Hoko and Shijokasa Hoko perform Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) in front of the Kawaramachi OPA. De-bayashi refers to the performance of Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) outside of the original Gion Matsuri Festival.
【De-bayashi 2024 Schedule (confirmation required)】
De-bayashi 2024 will be held at the beginning of July 2024 from 17:30 to 20:00. De-bayashi will be performed alternately by Kikusui Hoko and Shijokasa Hoko.
●Gion Matsuri Festival 2024 will start on July 1st, 2024 and end on July 31st, 2024.
Gion Matsuri Festival Schedule (July 1st-31st)
【Kawaramachi OPA Location Map & Directions】
Address: 385 Komeya-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Access (How to get there): Shijo Kawaramachi bus stop (about 3 minutes on foot), Hankyu Kyoto Kawaramachi Station (about 3 minutes on foot), Keihan Gion Shijo Station (about 6 minutes on foot)
【De-bayashi of Gion Matsuri brief overview】
De-bayashi (出囃子) of Gion Matsuri Festival (祇園祭) is held every year at the beginning of July. De-bayashi is sponsored by the Kawaramachi Shopping District Promotion Association. In De-bayashi, Hayashi-kata (music group) of Kikusui Hoko and Shijokasa Hoko perform Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) in front of the Kawaramachi OPA. Shijokasa Hoko performs not only Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music), but also bofuri wearing shakumage (red bear hair). De-bayashi refers to the performance of Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) outside of the original Gion Matsuri Festival.
★It is said that Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) began to be played at the end of the Muromachi period (1333-1573), inspired by Nohgaku (Sarugaku (Noh and Kyogen)), and was arranged in its present form during the Edo period (1603-1868). Gion-bayashi is composed of suri-kane (gongs), which produce a unique tone and rhythm, fue (flutes), which play the melody, and shime-taiko (drums), which control the tempo and the entire performance. Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) is also affectionately known as “Konchikichin”. It is said that the lively Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) played during Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade) has the function of luring and attracting evil spirits, believed to be the source of plague, and bringing them back to yamahoko-cho (yamahoko town) to be sealed in a storehouse.
★The origin of Kikusui Hoko (Kikusui Boko) is not clear. 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), it is written as “Kikusui Hoku (between Nishikikoji and Shijo)”, and Kikusui Hoko is said to have already been founded before the Onin War. Kikusui Hoko is derived from the famous “Kikusui-i well”, which was located in the Daikoku-an of Takeno Juou, a tea master and teacher of Sen no Rikyu, in the town in the late Muromachi period (1333-1573). Kikusui Hoko was destroyed in Dondon-yake (Genji Great Fire) in 1864 at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868), and was revived in 1952 for the first time in 88 years, and participated in Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade) with a temporary Yamahoko float, and a completion ceremony was held in 1953, and Kikusui Hoko returned to Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade).
★The origin of Shijokasa Hoko (Shijokasa Boko) is not clear. 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), it is written as “Kokiya Kohayashimono (between Shijo Aburakoji and Nishinotoin)”, and Shijokasa Hoko is said to have already been founded before the Onin War. Shijokasa Hoko, together with Ayakasa Hoko (Ayakasa Boko), is said to be Kasahoko (傘鉾) float that inherited the old style that existed before the Onin War. Shijokasa Hoko was destroyed by fire during the Onin War, but was revived in 1500. After that, Shijokasa Hoko was destroyed again during the Dondon-yake (Genji Great Fire) in 1864, and finally ceased in 1871. In 1985, Kasahoko was revived and continued to be held as i-matsuri, but in 1988, the dance and Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) essential to Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade) were restored, and as the 32nd Yamahoko float, it returned to Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade) for the first time in 117 years. In Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade), a procession of bofuri wearing shakumage (red bear hair) and suri-kane (gongs), fue (flutes), and shime-taiko (drums) wearing hana-gasa (flower hat) walk together. The bofuri-bayashi was recreated based on Kenketo-odori (dance) handed down at Tagi Shrine in Koga City, Shiga Prefecture. Kenketo-odori (dance) is said to have been handed down from Dengaku-odori (dance), which began in the Muromachi period (1336-1573).
【De-bayashi 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・・・)