Hachiman Yama of Gion Matsuri Festival

Hachiman Yama of Gion Matsuri Festival

The information of Hachiman Yama is presented here. Hachiman Yama is a small-sized Yamahoko float (Kakiyama float), and its symbol is a pine tree reaching vertically to the sky. Hachiman Yama is derived from Hachimangu (shrine), which was solicited from Ishishimizu Hachimangu. Hachiman Yama enshrines Hachimangu on top of the float, but it is usually enshrined in the garden of the kaisho (meeting hall).

【Hachiman Yama Location Map & Directions】

Address: Sanjo-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Access (How to get there): Subway Shijo Station (about 15 minutes on foot), Hankyu Karasuma Station (about 13 minutes on foot)
Location: Hachiman Yama is located on Shinmachi-dori, about 30 meters north of the intersection of Shinmachi-dori (north-south) and Rokkaku-dori (east-west).

【Hachiman Yama History and Brief Overview】

The origin of Hachiman Yama (八幡山) is not clear. In the “Gionshaki”, 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 “Hachiman Yama 八幡山 (between Shijo-cho and Rokkaku)”, and Hachiman Yama is said to have already been founded before the Onin War.

★Hachiman Yama is derived from Hachimangu (shrine), which was solicited from Ishishimizu Hachimangu Shrine in Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture. Hachimangu (shrine) enshrines Hachiman-no-kami (deity), and there are more than 40,000 shrines nationwide, with the general headquarters of Usa Jingu Shrine in Usa City, Oita Prefecture. In Shintoism, Hachiman-no-kami is the divine spirit of the 15th Emperor Ojin (Hondawake-no-mikoto), and is said to have first manifested itself in Usa (Oita Prefecture). The 15th Emperor Ojin was worshipped by the imperial family as the god of the imperial ancestors and by the military families such as the Seiwa Genji and the Kanmu Heishi as the god of military fortune. In addition, the three deities that combined the 15th Emperor Ojin, Hime no Kami, and Empress Jingu, the mother of the 15th Emperor Ojin, came to be called the “Hachiman Sanshin”. Hachimangu (shrine) is said to be enshrined in the garden of the kaisho (meeting hall) during times other than the Gion Matsuri Festival.
★Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine is said to have originated in 859, when Gyokyo, a monk of Daian-ji Temple in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, received a divine oracle from Hachiman-no-Okami of Usa Hachimangu Shrine in Buzen Province (Usa City, Oita Prefecture), saying “Enshrine on the summit of Mt. Otoko-yama near the capital (Kyoto) and protect the nation”, and the divine spirit of Hachiman-no-Okami was enshrined on Mt. Otoko-yama. The following year, in 860, the 52nd Emperor Seiwa built a Hachiman-dukuri shrine building (Rokuu-no-Hoden). The name Ishimizu Hachimangu Shrine is derived from Ishimizu-dera Temple (Ishimizu-ji Temple), which was already located on Mt. Otoko-yama. Ishimizu-dera Temple (Ishimizu-ji Temple) became a shrine temple of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine.
*reference・・・Hachiman Yama website

【Features (subject to change)】

★Hachiman Yama weighs about 0.75 tons. (2008 Data) Hachiman Yama is marked by a pine tree reaching into the sky.
★The statue of Emperor Ojin (Goshintai) on horseback is enshrined in a small shrine. The horse is said to be the work of the Buddhist sculptor Unkei and is gilded with gold leaf. The small shrine is said to have been built during the Tenmei period (1781-1788) in the late Edo period (1603-1868). The small shrine is about 1 meter high and is completely covered with gold leaf. A golden guardian dog is also placed inside the small shrine, and male and female pigeons, symbolizing marital harmony, sit facing each other on the vermilion-painted Torii gate. It is said that the pigeon was created by Hidari Jingoro.
★The miokuri (back) is a tsudurenishiki with the sunflower-phoenix-figure pattern and the ezonishikii with the cloud dragon pattern, and the do-kake (side) is a tsudurenishiki with the cloud dragon pattern. The mizuhiki was a karashu with the “Kinji Kachosenen-zu”, but it was replaced by embroidery with the “Juchosei-zu” in 1986. The mae-kake (front) was the “Keiju Gunsen-zu” donated in 1690 in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1868), but it was replaced by a replica in 1987.
★The flying crane in carved gold on the ranbuchi is said to have been made by Kawarabayashi Hideoki. The folding screen depicting the Gione Kankosai (Kankosai of Gion Matsuri Festival), written by Kaihoku Yusetsu, is designated as a Kyoto City Cultural Property.
★Chimaki, which have the benefit of preventing crying at night and for marital harmony, hand towels, pigeon flutes, pigeon bells, etc. are available for purchase.

【Events (confirmation required)】

★In Latter Festival Yoiyama from July 21st to July 23rd, Komagata-chochin lanterns of Hachiman Yama are lit and Gion-bayashi (Gion Matsuri music) is played in the evening.
★In Latter Festival Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade) on July 24th, Yamahoko floats, including Hachiman Yama depart from Karasuma-Oike and parade along Oike-dori, Kawaramachi-dori, and Shijo-dori.

【Hachiman 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・・・)

京都観光おすすめ

  1. 錦市場(Nishiki Market)
  2. 竹林の道(Bamboo Forest Path)
  3. 嵐山
ページ上部へ戻る