Yasaka Jinja Gion Matsuri

Overview

The Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival is the festival of Yasaka Shrine, located in the Daito Naka district in the southern part of Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture. It is also commonly called the Naka Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival. Held each year on the first Saturday and Sunday of October, it is a venerable festival designated a cultural property of Shizuoka Prefecture. Its highlights include the nighttime procession of floats decorated with lanterns parading through the district, and yabusame (horseback archery), and it is counted as one of the festivals representative of the Enshu region. Note that it is an entirely different festival from the Gion Festival of Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, which bears the same name Gion Festival. The Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival of Kakegawa is a festival with its own culture and history, rooted in an area near the Enshu coast.

History and Origins

The Kakegawa Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival has been handed down since old times as the festival of Yasaka Shrine in the Daito Naka district. The land where this shrine stands has a history of once being a village called Naka, namely Nakamura Shikago, and so the shrine is also called Naka Yasaka Shrine. The Gion in the festival's name is based on the Gion faith deriving from Yasaka Shrine (Gion-sha) in Kyoto. The Gion faith is faith in a deity who quells epidemics and wards off calamities, and the Gion festivals held at Yasaka shrines and Gion shrines in various places originally spread nationwide as summer festivals praying for the dispelling of epidemics and for good health. The Kakegawa Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival is also a festival in the stream of this Gion faith.

What makes this festival particularly important is that it is a designated cultural property of Shizuoka Prefecture. To be designated a cultural property means that the form and tradition of the festival are recognized as having high value as conveying the history and culture of the region. The Enshu region is known as an area where festivals pulling two-wheeled and three-wheeled floats (yatai) are flourishing, beginning with the Kakegawa Festival, and the Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival of the Daito Naka district has also protected and handed down its own tradition within that festival culture of Enshu. Into each event, such as the procession of floats and the yabusame, are poured the faith and unity of local people cultivated over long years. It is a festival that has been handed down across generations in the land of Enshu near the coast, while praying for bountiful harvests, good health, and the peace of the community.

Highlights

One highlight of the Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival is the procession of floats decorated with lanterns. At the festival's eve celebration, the floats, which until then had worn flower decorations, change to a lantern appearance at night. The sight of the floats, colored with vivid flower decorations during the day, emerging illuminated by countless lantern lights in the darkness of night, shows a fantastical beauty entirely different from daytime. The staging in which the floats' attire greatly changes within a single day is a highlight unique to this festival and fascinates those who visit.

Another major highlight is the yabusame. Yabusame is a traditional mounted archery ritual in which targets are shot while running a horse, and it is known as a brave and solemn event. The skill of the archers loosing arrows from atop galloping horses, and the tension-filled instant, greatly excite the crowd. Also, at the festival, various showpieces unfold in various places, such as the procession of floats heading to the otabisho (resting place for the deity), events at the otabisho of Aoya, and the float nerikomi (group pulling-in). The charm is being able to experience up close the many dignified festival events backed by tradition, befitting a prefecturally designated cultural property. The fervor of local people coming together as one to create the festival, and the sound of festival music echoing through the seaside village, have become a seasonal feature of autumn in Enshu.

Event Information and Access

The Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival is held over two days, usually on the first Saturday and Sunday of October, in the Daito Naka district in southern Kakegawa City. On the eve celebration of the first day, worship at Mansho-ji temple and the event in which the floats change from flower decorations to a lantern appearance are held, and toward night the floats with lanterns lit tour the district. On the second day, the main festival day, various events as a grand festival, rituals at the otabisho of Aoya, the procession and nerikomi of floats, and yabusame are unfolded.

For access, the Daito district in southern Kakegawa City is the venue. The nearest station is Kakegawa Station on the JR and Tokaido Shinkansen lines, from which one heads to the Daito Naka district by bus or car. As the venue is in an area near the coast, set apart to the south from central Kakegawa, it is best to check public transportation well in advance. Since traffic restrictions may be implemented within the district during the festival period, when visiting by car it is advisable to also check parking information. While the holding date is basically the first Saturday and Sunday of October, the exact dates and the times of each event may differ from year to year, so it is reliable to confirm in advance through the official information of Kakegawa City and the Kakegawa Tourism Association.

Around the Area

Kakegawa City, the venue of the Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival, is a city rich in history representative of the Enshu region. The symbol of Kakegawa is Kakegawa Castle, restored in the Heisei period as Japan's first full-scale wooden castle keep. The beautiful white keep towers, welcoming visitors together with the atmosphere of the castle town. The Ninomaru Palace adjacent to the castle is designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan as one of the few surviving castle palace structures, and is well worth seeing.

Kakegawa City is also a land where festivals flourish, and festivals where one can experience the yatai culture of Enshu are held in various places, such as the Kakegawa Festival held in the city center (its grand festival once every three years is especially famous). Kakegawa is also known as a production area for fine tea, and one can touch the tea culture, including deep-steamed tea. Around the Daito district near the coast, the magnificent coastline of the Enshu Sea spreads, and natural scenery can be enjoyed as well. Furthermore, nearby are scenic spots such as Kunozan Toshogu (Shizuoka City), regarded as one of the three great Toshogu shrines of Japan, and Cape Omaezaki, so together with viewing the Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival, one can enjoy a journey touring the history and nature of Enshu and Shizuoka.

Related Information

Details on the Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival can be found in the official information of Kakegawa City and the Kakegawa Tourism Association. This festival is the festival of Yasaka Shrine (Naka Yasaka Shrine) located in the Daito Naka district of Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and is a venerable event designated a cultural property of Shizuoka Prefecture. Held each year on the first Saturday and Sunday of October, its highlights are the procession of floats decorated with lanterns and the yabusame. While the Gion in the festival's name is based on the Gion faith deriving from Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, note that it is an entirely different festival unique to the Enshu region from the Gion Festival of Kyoto. To avoid confusion with the festival of the same name, it is important to confirm the location (Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture). A rich festival culture of pulling floats (yatai) lives on in the Enshu region, and the Yasaka Shrine Gion Festival is one of them, a precious presence conveying the region's history and faith to the present. When viewing the festival, one should bear in mind that it is a traditional event long protected and handed down by local people, and enjoy it with respect.

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