Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame of Gion Matsuri (July 3rd, 2024)

Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame of Gion Matsuri

The information of Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame is presented here. Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame is held every year on July 3rd. In Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame, the main (old) and copy (new) Shinmen (masks), which is attached to the statue of Empress Jingu (the deity figure of Fune Hoko), are checked for good condition. In Former Festival Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade), the copy (new) Shinmen (mask) in the Edo period (1603-1868) is attached to the statue of Empress Jingu.

【Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame 2024 Schedule (confirmation required)】

Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame 2024 will be held on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024, at 10:00. (Normally closed to the public) Kippu-iri of Fune Hoko will be held on July 3rd.
●Gion Matsuri Festival 2024 will start on July 1st, 2024 and end on July 31st, 2024.
Gion Matsuri Festival Schedule (July 1st-31st)

【Fune Hoko Location Map & Directions】

Address: Funehoko-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Access (How to get there): Subway Shijo Station (about 7 minutes on foot), Hankyu Karasuma Station (about 10 minutes on foot)

【Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame of Gion Matsuri brief overview】

Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame (船鉾神面改め) of Gion Matsuri Festival (祇園祭) is held every year on July 3rd. In Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame, the main (old) and copy (new) Shinmen (masks), which is attached to the statue of Empress Jingu (the deity figure (Goshintai) of Fune Hoko), are checked for good condition. The officer of Fune Hoko holds a piece of kaishi paper in his mouth so as not to breathe on the main (old) and copy (new) Shinmen (masks), takes out them out of the wooden box, and silently holds them up to check their condition, then presents them to those around him. After confirmation, the main (old) and copy (new) Shinmen (masks) are returned to the wooden box. Incidentally, of the main (old) Shinmen (mask) and the copy (new) Shinmen (mask), the main (old) Shinmen (mask) was made in the Bunan period (1444-1448) in the middle of the Muromachi period (1336-1573), and the copy (new) Shinmen (mask) was made in the Edo period (1603-1868). In addition, In Former Festival Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade), the copy (new) Shinmen (mask) is attached to the statue of Empress Jingu, the main (old) Shinmen (mask) is kept in a wooden box and it is said that the officer of Fune Hoko, who is also called “Ningyoden”, hangs it around his neck and boards Fune Hoko.

★The Shinmen (mask) to be attached to the statue of Empress Jingu, which is the deity figure (Goshintai) of Fune Hoko, has been said to bring blessings for safe childbirth since ancient times, and it is said to have been visited by the Imperial Palace on the occasion of the birth of Emperor Meiji in 1852. The statue of Empress Jingu wears a number of Iwata-obi (girth belts) in Former Festival Yamahoko-Junko (Float Procession, Yamaboko Parade), and Iwata-obi (girth belts) are given to the prayer as a good luck charm for safe childbirth after Former Festival Yamahoko-Junko.
★Empress Jingu was the empress of the 14th Emperor Chuai. Incidentally, Empress Jingu is named “Okinagatarashihime-no-mikoto (息長帯比売命)” in Japan’s oldest history book “Kojiki”, and “Okinagatarashihime-no-mikoto (気長足姫尊)” in Japan’s oldest official history book “Nihonshoki”. Her father was Okinaganosukune-no-mikoto, the great-great-grandson of the 9th Emperor Kaika, and her mother was Kazuraginotakanukahime, the great-great-granddaughter of Amenohiboko, who came to Tajima from Shiragi. After the death of the 14th Emperor Chuai, Empress Jingu served as regent from 201 to 269, conducting political affairs such as the Sankan Seibatsu (Conquest of the Three Kans), and is said to have died at the age of 100. It is said that Empress Jingu gave birth to the 15th Emperor Ojin by delaying childbirth during the Sankan Seibatsu (Conquest of the Three Kans) by placing a tsukinenishi (stone) on her belly and wrapping it in a sarashi to cool it down.
★The origin of Fune Hoko 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 “Shinkukuwaukuu-no-fune (between Shijo and Ayanokoji)”, and Fune Hoko is said to have already been founded before the Onin War. Fune Hoko is derived from the story of the “Sankan Seibatsu (Conquest of the Three Kans)” of the pregnant Empress Jingu. When the 14th Emperor Chuai went to Kyushu to defeat the Kumaso and died suddenly at Kashigu Palace in Tsukushi (Fukuoka), Empress Jingu who accompanied him is said to have made an expedition to Shiragi despite being pregnant, subdued Shiragi without a fight, and returned to Tsukushi to give birth to the 15th Emperor Ojin without incident. It is said that during the “Sankan Seibatsu (Conquest of the Three Kans), Kudara and Kokuri, in addition to Shiragi, promised to pay tribute to Japan as well as Shiragi. Since Fune Hoko originated from the departure of a ship on an expedition to Shiragi, it is said to be “Shutsujin no Funehoko (Departure)”, while Ofune Hoko is said to be “Gaisen no Funehoko (Triumph)”. The current Fune Hoko was built during the Tempo period (1830-1843) of the late Edo period (1603-1868).

【Funehoko-cho Shinmen-aratame 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・・・)

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