This year the Of Rice and Zen team were lucky enough to be invited to take part in Gion Matsuri as part of the pulling team for Iwato Yama. Here is an account of the day you can expect if you are ever afforded a similar opportunity.
The night of the 16th, before the big pull the Of Rice and Zen team were invited to go to Shinmachi to inspect our Yama and climb aboard it free of charge. The atmosphere of the streets around Shijo on the nights leading up to the big day is truly electric. Chinpira kids face off against the police, girls in kimono kiss each other for the amusement of the boys around them, K1 sized fathers smack their kids around, groups of boys offer their back sides to their friends with the words aiteru yo, aiteru yo! (“I’m open, I’m open”), wherever you look gorgeous people in kimono flirt, drink and eat from street vendors until the streets are piled high with half-eaten dishes and mountains of trash.
The bacchanalian revelry doesn’t lend itself to contemplation of this ancient tradition, but the fact that these changing times have done nothing to diminish the popularity of this huge and incredibly disruptive street festival is a surefire reminder that you are to take part in the culmination of the biggest party Kyoto will have this year. The size of the festival begins to hit home and you realise that visitors from far and wide, as well as NHK TV cameras will be scrutinising your every move in the morning.

You head to Kyoto at 7am for Gion Matsuri preparations, stopping at a cafe near Shijo-Karasuma station for some breakfast before preparing for the 7 hour stretch ahead. You will arrive at Shinmachi to find your team putting the finishing touches on Iwato-yama, your portable shrine for the day, including a huge tree branch that sways precariously as the float is moved.

The shoes you wear are old, frayed waraji which come in one size, PAIN. Your team finds it way to the changing area and out of the sight of the growing crowds, spends a few minutes passing around sports tape and carefully strapping up their feet. The area between the big and second toe require special attention. To prevent injury it is recommended that you wrap your foot in a figure of 8 where the sandals straps rub your feet, being sure to fill the gap between your toes with as much padding as you can. Attach the tape or bandage as far up the sides of the toe as you can, because your rope shoes will be sliding up and occasionally off your feet throughout the day and skin unaccustomed to this rough material doesn’t last long once it becomes wet and softens.

Stepping in puddles quickly makes your plasters peel off and the waraji fray and is not advised. Unfortunately the festival takes place in the rainy season, so even if it isn’t raining on the day of the pull, constant vigilance is advisable so that you don’t step into any more puddles than necessary. The frayed and thin heel section means that participants are essentially banging their heels on Kyoto’s roads for three or four hours while pulling a religious building behind them. The Of Rice and Zen team plan to add some cushioning to help keep our mind on the occasion and not on our blisters next year.

The Shinmachi changing room is the underground storehouse of a car park and the residents and shopkeepers of Shinmachi offer up their houses, conbini and toilets for participants for the day. The basement was so full of testosterone our photographer’s lens actually started to steam up. Beeftastic.

Selecting your headgear for the day is also a serious business. Of Rice and Zen recommends you find a hat with an inner rope ring, like those worn by the three storms in John Carpenter’s classic Big Trouble in Little China. The added stability provided by the ring keeps the hat in place and allows you to keep your hands on that all-important rope attached to the 5 ton death trap rumbling towards your back. In our humble opinion, nothing spoils your Gion Matsuri day so much as being cleft in twain by a shrine on wheels.

On the right of this trio is Shaheed who has been involved in the festival for 9 years and leading the team for 8. He leads the team associated with Keage International Community House. He’s a thoroughly nice guy to boot. He organises a large team of volunteers with busy schedules who often fail to answer their phones and does so with calmness and a sense of fun. He also helps to interpret for team members who are not yet Japanese speakers throughout the orientation process.

You take a few minutes for a team photo before you head off at around 10 am. This shot will make a great memento in years to come so we recommend you try not to pull an idiotic face or blink when the shutter opens. Like we did.

Our elders, and betters, then take their turn in front of the float. You may later find that although the foreign pullers carefully keep to the rules and resist the urge to wave, socialise or carry any belongings at all with them, these stately chaps apparently have earned the right to sit around smoking, chinwagging and calling their girlfriends whenever you bust a blood vessel trying to drag a steering-wheel-less portable shrine around a corner.

You try to put on our calmest faces minutes before the off. There is a strict order for the Yamaboko to set off in so all participants must be punctual and reliable above all else. Last minute toilet dashes can cause your leader palpitations, so we recommend you go whenever you get the chance, whether you think you need to or not. There is something legendarily kakkou warui about running away from the Yama in Shijo in front of the eyes of thousands to duck into Takashimaya and use the little boys’ room.

The crowds of local residents and store owners begin to pour out onto the street to encourage their designated team as the latters’ nerves set in. At this point last minute instruction are barked at you and some members of the public try to cross the rope which is both disrespectful and strictly forbidden. Against our better natures the Of Rice and Zen team were asked to manhandle one such man away from the rope accompanied by loud and embarrassing shouts of dame dame dame! milliseconds before he jumped over. It was an excruciating thing to do to a stranger and we sincerely hope he has since lived down the inevitable embarrassment it must have caused him to be schooled in politeness by Johnny Foreigner.

At this point in the morning you are probably getting eager to begin. Sweat is mopped off brows, last minute water is consumed and scores of foreigners in period dress pour into the local conbini for their last minute nervous tinkles and rehydration. Or cigarette breaks.

Your first turn onto Shijo is your only turn to the right of the whole day. The support team lay down bamboo slats for the wheels to slide on. These thin strips of bamboo are then sprinkled with water to ensure that they don’t catch fire due the friction caused by the weight of the Yama being dragged over them.

The team walks the Yama into the crossing, then walks around the corner to the right and bunches up closely. When the fan team signal you pull the Yama sideways for a short burst, being sure not to pull them off the bamboo slats. To do so would make the turn much more difficult. Ideally the corner should be done in three or four strenuous bursts.

As it happens our support failed to lay down the bamboo slats properly first time, so when the team pulled the wheels didn’t budge. To our great surprise the onlookers got fully behind us and began cheering us on to “ganbatte” for Japan. When the first pull was complete the crowd applauded loudly. On the third pull the team had been forced onto the pavement and event into the lobbies of nearby stores. To see a turn in these incredibly close confines was a thrill for the crowd. When the 90 degree turn was complete the onlookers went wild and with a palpable sense of relief and pride we realised our parade had begun.

The team tackle the first turn with trepidation, but after one false start it soon became like second nature. You quickly realise how essential cooperation and good timing are. By the end of the pull the sense of camaraderie is clear on every face.

It is essential for pullers to watch their team leaders at all times. Most of the pullers face forwards on straight roads and the team leaders are expected to watch the fan-bearers riding on the Yamaboko for orders to stop. If the pullers near the Yama don’t hear the team leader at the end of the rope order them to stop, they keep pulling the portable shrine as it nears the chocks that have been laid on the road in front of it. As it slams to a stop from a relatively high speed the Yama lurches forward sharply and the children seated on top are in danger of being thrown down onto the street below, which could cast a pall over the occasion.

These guys sitting on the roof have a hard job. They look exhausted from all that posing for the camera and waving at cute girls in the windows of department stores en route. In truth when the Yama gets back to Shinmachi you clear the balconies and traffic signals of the tiny backstreet by inches and their point of view becomes genuinely invaluable.

When the Yama emerges onto the broad streets of Oike-dori thousands of eyes and camera lenses are on you. The view is truly daunting and for the first time you realise the scale of the event and the expetations that are on you. The audience is kind enough to applaud you and fan you all the way. The surprised cries of “gaijin bakkari ya ne” become too numerous to count, but the support of the crowd is moving and the adrenaline keeps you going for hours without once feeling fatigued. Well okay, maybe just once.

Being fanned, waved at and smiled at by maiko is a truly rare experience and one we wouldn’t have traded for the world. On top of that, legions of volunteers rush out at every stop and before every turn to offer you tea and encouragement. At no point to you feel like your participation in this event is going unappreciated, in contrast you are treated with a noticeable respect.

When we arrive back to Shinmachi the locals express their gratitude for the team who have rid the streets of the plague again. They collect your uniforms, provide refreshments and a place for you to wash your feet and each puller recieves a box of azuchi bean rice in return for their hard work. The greatest gift of all though is when you pull the Yama up the end of the street, pull it back to its starting position, carefully lay the ropes to the floor and the team, as well as the onlookers, burst into spontaneous applause in the realisation that they have just taken part in Kyoto’s 1200 year old tradition and have comported themselves respectfully. A band of brothers is born who then march off en masse to enjoy a slap-up yakiniku (thin strips of meat cooked over a flame at the table and eaten with ponzu and optional rice) meal in a nearby restaurant and share their impressions of the exploit.

Finally, each puller is awarded a woman of their choice. A welcome surprise end to an incredibly memorable day. If you have any specific questions about Gion Matsuri participation that we didn’t answer here, please feel free to add a comment below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

And finally we’d like to thank Julian Carter for lending us his photography skills for the day. In the following action shot he has captured a great sense of the teamwork and effort that were required and has provided Of Rice and Zen with a great reminder of the day. For more of his photography, take a look here. For more photography and design by the Of Rice and Zen team, please take a look here.

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