Sencha Kencha-sai of Gion Matsuri

The information of Sencha Kencha-sai is presented here. Sencha Kencha-sai is held every year on July 23rd. In Sencha Kencha-sai, the iemoto (headmaster) of Kyoto’s six sencha schools (Ogawa-ryu School, Gyokusen Enshu-ryu School, Kofu Sencha Reishiki School, Zuihoan-ryu School, Taizan-ryu School, and Baisa-honryu School) take turns serving sencha and offering it to the deity of Yasaka Shrine. Kencha-sai is also held every year on July 16th.

• Sencha Kencha-sai 2024 Schedule
• Sencha Kencha-sai map ＆ access
• Sencha Kencha-sai brief overview

【Sencha Kencha-sai 2024 Schedule (confirmation required)】

Sencha Kencha-sai 2024 will be held on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024, at 9:00.
●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)

【Sencha Kencha-sai of Gion Matsuri brief overview】

Sencha Kencha-sai (煎茶献茶祭) of Gion Matsuri Festival (祇園祭) is held every year on July 23rd.
In Sencha Kencha-sai, the iemoto (headmaster) of Kyoto’s six sencha schools (Ogawa-ryu School, Gyokusen Enshu-ryu School, Kofu Sencha Reishiki School, Zuihoan-ryu School, Taizan-ryu School, and Baisa-honryu School) take turns serving sencha and offering it to the deity of Yasaka Shrine. By the way, in Sencha Kencha-sai, haifuku-seki (seats) and fuku-seki (seats) are set up in Tokiwaden and Tokiwashinden. In addition, Kencha-sai is also held every year on July 16th.

★The Sencha Ceremony is one of the tea ceremony schools that is said to have been founded in the early Edo period (1603-1868) by Ingen Ryuki of the Obaku sect. In the sencha ceremony, tea leaves such as sencha and gyokuro are poured with hot water into a kyusu (teapot) and drunk.
★Sencha is grown in full sunlight, steamed, rubbed, and dried. Japanese tea includes sencha, gyokuro, bancha, hojicha, genmaicha, matcha, and tamaryokucha, with sencha accounting for about 85% of the total volume of tea in Japan.
★The Ogawa-ryu School was founded by Ogawa Kashin in the end of the Edo period (1603-1868).
★The Gyokusen Enshu-ryu School was completed by the 5th generation Omori Soryu in the Meiji period (1868-1912).
★The Kofu Sencha Reishiki School was founded by Morishita Hodo.
★The Zuihoan-ryu School was founded by Nishikawa Suisen in the early Showa period (1926-1989).
★The Taizan-ryu School was founded by Kuzuba Taizan.
★The Baisa-honryu School was founded by Ko Yugai, who was said to be Baisao in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1868).
★Tokiwaden was Shinden of Kosho-in Monzeki Temple, which was rebuilt with a donation from the Edo Shogunate and was named Tokiwa Gosho by the 119th Emperor Koukaku in 1789. Tokiwaden was moved to Yasaka Shrine in 1956.
★Honden (Important Cultural Property) was rebuilt in 1654 by Tokugawa Ietsuna, the 4th shogun of the Edo shogunate. Honden is about 400 tsubo and 15 meters high. Honden is modeled after the Shishinden of the Imperial Palace, and is said to be the Gion-zukuri (Yasaka-zukuri), with Honden and Haiden combined into one unique structure.

【Sencha Kencha-sai 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・・・）