Goryo Matsuri Festival

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Goryo Festival (goryoo matsuri)

***** Location: Kyoto
***** Season: Early Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Goryoo Matsuri 御霊祭 (ごりょうまつり)
Goryo Festival
goryoo no shinji 御霊の神事（ごりょうのしんじ） Goryo Shinto ritual
goryoo no oide 御霊の御出（ごりょうのおいで） visiting Goryo (shrine)

May 1 till 18 at the Kami Goryo Shrine　上御霊神社, Kyoto.
At Shimo Goryo Shrine下御霊神社 on a sunday near May 18.



Ritual to appease the six "vengeful spirits" of enemies of the state.

Sudo, Sudoo Tenno 崇道天皇 (? - 785) and his son,
Iyo Shinno 伊予親王.
his mother, Fujiwara Fujin, 藤原婦人
Fujiwara Hirotsugu, 藤原広嗣
Tachibana Hayanari, 橘逸勢
Bunya no Miyata Maro　文室宮田麻呂

. . . Later two more were added :
Kibi no Makibi 吉備真備
Sugawara Michizane　菅原道真

The rituals are now for these 8 vengeful spirits.

. Sutoku Tenno, Sotoku 崇徳天皇 (1119 - 1142) .




quote
History of the Gion Matsuri
Kyoto has suffered on many occasions from all kinds of bad omens, including epidemics, floods, fires, and earthquakes. To keep the spirits from being angry, special protective or goryo-e festivals have been held in Kyoto since ancient times.

The first Gion Matsuri, one of Japan's oldest goryo-e festivals, was held in the early Heian period (794-1185) to stop a series of devastating plagues.
source : www.kyotoguide.com


The Chinese characters are also read

mitama matsuri みたままつり【御霊祭（り）】
These rituals and festivals are also held at other Shinto Shrines in Japan.
Some are held during the O-Bon rituals for the ancestors.


. 御霊神社 Goryo Jinja, Kamakura .
Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa 鎌倉権五郎景政 "Gongoro san"
is the deity in residence.


御霊神社（ごりょうじんじゃ）という名前の神社は、日本各地に存在する。
- A long list :
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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The vengeful spirits, goryoo, onryoo 御霊、怨霊
Sugawara Michizane　菅原道真

. the vengeful spirits of the dead . 　


. Kibi no Makibi 吉備真備 　


. The Tachibana clan (橘) 　



Prince Sawara (早良親王 , Sawara-shinnō)
posthumous Emperor Sudō (崇道天皇, Sudō-tennō).
He was also made part of pantheon of ‘disgraced’ figures enshrined at the Shinsenen in Kyōto, in 863, to appease (rather than banish) troubled, even vengeful, souls. The others were Mononobe no Moriya (killed 587), Prince Iyo (executed 807), Fujiwara no Nakanari (executed 810), Tachibana no Hayanari (executed 842) and Bunya no Miyatamaro (executed 843).
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

- quote -
Scholar uncovers the fascinating history behind Japan’s folklore
One such story is “The Curse of Prince Sawara,” said to have been one of the reasons for Emperor Kanmu to relocate the capital to Heiankyo in present-day Kyoto in 794, only years after moving it to nearby Nagaokakyo.

It is said that Crown Prince Sawara, the emperor's brother, was framed for an assassination and died of indignation, and that Emperor Kanmu was haunted by his vengeful ghost because a number of imperial family members died afterward.
- source : asahi shinbun -
桓武天皇 . Prince Sawara (早良親王, Sawara-shinnō) .



. Taira no Masakado 平将門 (? – 940) .
Possible reincarnation of Sugawara Michizane . . .

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What is a kenboko? 剣鉾 （けんぼこ）



The kenboko is a ritual apparatus used to appease evil spirits. In festivals, it takes the lead position during the passage of mobile shrines. The shape of the kenboko has been linked to such ancient weapons as bronze swords and halberds, although the connection is by no means definite.

Of more certainty, is its association with belief in the spirits of the dead, during the Heian Period. In 869, during the first Gion Goryo-e (meaning "service for souls"; later to become Gion Matsuri), 66 tall spears (hoko) were erected in Shinsen Garden, after which prayers were offered in the hope of driving away the pestilence then ravaging the city.

Nenjugyoji Emaki, a series of picture scrolls depicting annual events from the Heian Period, show a festival hoko leading the passage of a mobile shrine during Gion Goryoe. Historical materials from around the beginning of the Muromachi Period show kenboko in forms close to those of the present day.

The rakuchu-rakugai-zu folding screen illustrations in the Uesugi Family Book from the late Muromachi Period show a Goryo-sha kenboko procession.


Toya-kazari of Kenboko
Kenboko serve to appease evil spirits by appearing in festivals in a ritual called kenboko-zashi (bearing of the kenboko). People who come under the protection of the deity to whom the shrine is dedicated are responsible for looking after the kenboko. The kenboko themselves are procured by the local community or a Hoko Association.

Therefore, kenboko do not usually belong to a shrine. Rather, they are the property of a community in that shrine's jurisdiction, or a Hoko Association. Each year the kenboko is passed to a different residence in the community, where it is feted for the following 12 months. This practice is called toya-kazari.


A kenboko is typically made up of kensaki (point of the sword), shingaku (deity plaque), kazari (ornamentation), fukichiri (standard) and rin (bells). All of these are attached to a long pole.

The kensaki is made of thin metal, while the shingaku carries the name of the shrine, the deity to which it is dedicated, and the name of the era from which it derived. Kazari, or ornamentation, includes crests and heraldic emblems of plants and animals, elaborately crafted in metal. Each kenboko takes its name from the kazari designs.

When carried in procession, the kenboko is placed vertically in a pouch secured around the waist. As the bearer walks, he moves the kenboko back and forth, up and down, all the while ringing the bells. As kenboko are 6～7 metres long and weigh about 60 kg, this kind of movement calls for a high degree of skill.

The Main Kenboko Festivals in Kyoto:
Kumano Shrine Jinko Festival April 29
Shinsen Garden Shinsen Garden Festival May 1～3
Saginomori Shrine Annual Festival May 4
Imamiya Shrine Imamiya Festival
..... From May 5 to a Sunday near May 15
Otoyo Shrine Ujigami Festival May 5
Hachidai Shrine Jinko Festival May 5
Jinushi Shrine Jinushi Festival May 5
Suga Shrine Jinko Festival May 10

Gojo Tenjinsha (shrine) Ujiko Festival October 10
Sugadaijin Shrine Annual Festival 2nd Sunday in May
Ichihime Shrine Ichihime Festival Sunday nearest May 13
Nagi Shrine Jinko Festival 3rd Sunday in May
Ebisu Shrine Annual Grand Festival 3rd Sunday in May
Atago Shrine Nonomiya Shrine Saga Festival 4th Sunday in May
Seimei Shrine Jinko Festival September 23
Kitano Tenmangu (shrine) Zuiki Festival　October 1～4
Kita　shirakawa Tenjingu (shrine) Annual Festival　October 7
Awata Shrine Awata Grand Festival　October 10
Hiraoka Hachimangu (shrine) Annual Festival　October 10
Kono　shimaza Amaterasu Omikami Shrine (Kaikono　yashiro)
... Annual Festival October 10
Kasuga Shrine Kasuga Festival 2nd Sunday in October
Yoshida Shrine / Imamiya Shrine Imamiya Shrine Annual Festival 2nd Saturday in October
Hachi Shrine Autumn Grand Festival 3rd Sunday in October
Fukuoji Shrine Autumn Grand Festival 3rd Sunday in October
Sumiyoshi Otomo Shrine Jinko Festival 3rd Sunday in October
Okazaki Shrine Ujiko Grand Festival October 16
Jonangu (shrine) Jinko Festival Sunday nearest October 20
Yuki Shrine Kurama Fire Festival October 22
Iwakura Shrine Annual Festival 4th Saturday in October


Kenboko from Shrine Kasuga Jinja

source : www.kyobunka.or.jp


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kigo for early summer

Imamiya matsuri 今宮祭 (いまみやまつり)
Imamiya shrine festival

Imamiya matsuri oide 今宮祭御出（いまみやまつりおいで）
take part in the Imamiya festival

From May 5 to a Sunday near May 15
Three large ox-drawn festival floats are paraded around town.



A Shinto shrine located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It was originally established for patrons to pray for safety from an epidemic, though it has evolved into a shrine where patrons can pray for general good health.

On every second Sunday in April, one of the 3 major festivals in Kyoto, Yasurai Matsuri 安良居祭 (やすらいまつり), is held at the shrine. The word imamiya (今宮) means "newly constructed.

There are several attractions that are unique to Imamiya Shrine. Specifically, there are two longstanding restaurants adjacent to the shrine. These shops' specialty are aburimochi - skewered, roasted rice cakes that are a traditional Kyoto confection. The two restaurants, named Ichiwa and Kazariya, have been open since 1002 and 1656 respectively and are located immediately outside the shrine's east gate.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. WASHOKU : aburimochi あぶりもち


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

半日は神を友にや年忘れ
hanjitsu wa kami o tomo ni ya toshi wasure

half a day
I spent in the company of the gods -
this Year-End Party
Tr. Gabi Greve

Basho spent the last day of the year with the priest Ogurusu Yuugen 小栗栖祐玄 Yugen
at the shrine Kami Goryoo Jinja 上御霊神社

Discussion of this hokku
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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Related words

***** . Gion Festival (Gion matsuri) 　
祇園祭り　(ぎおんまつり)

***** . Sugawara Michizane　菅原道真 .

. ikiryoo 生霊 . 生き霊 Ikiryo“living spirit” .


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