The “chigo” child heads to Yasaka Shrine while riding on a white horse to attend the “Shasan no gi” ritual, in Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward on July 13, 2024. The “Naginatahoko” float is seen in the background. (Mainichi/Kazuki Yamazaki)=Click/tap photo for more images.
KYOTO — A child dressed in traditional Japanese attire and with their face in stark white makeup took part in a ritual on July 13 to pray for safety during the upcoming “yamahoko” float procession during Kyoto’s famed Gion Festival.
Masaki Nishikawa, the “chigo” child, attended the “Shasan no gi” ritual held at Yasaka Shrine in the ancient Japanese capital’s Higashiyama Ward, clad in a Heian period (794-1185) costume and wearing a gold “eboshi” headpiece.
Mounted a white horse, the 11-year-old departed from the city’s Shimogyo Ward accompanied by a procession of adults and two boys called “kamuro.” At Yasaka Shrine, he was granted a charm made of leaves from a sacred cedar tree.
As the child who goes through the Shasan no gi ritual is treated as a “divine messenger,” Nishikawa left the shrine while being carried on a man called “Goriki” so he wouldn’t step on the ground.
On July 17, Nishikawa, a sixth grader at the municipal Rakuo Elementary School, will ride on the Naginatahoko float leading the yamahoko procession, one of the climaxes of the monthlong Gion Festival. He will cut a sacred straw rope with a sword to commence the procession.
(Japanese original by Yuki Ohigashi, Kyoto Bureau)
In Photos: Child in Heian costume joins ceremony heralding start of Gion Festival procession
AloJapan.com