Sons of the members of the Gion Sasaki Ichimonkai perform as children and bald men at the Gion Matsuri.

This year again, the Yamahoko-junko (parade of floats) of the Gion Festival started at 09:00 on July 17 from Shijo-Karasuma. Compared to last year, the weather was cloudy and pleasant…

The Gion Festival, which boasts a history of more than 1,000 years, is said to have originated from the Goryoe, a ceremony held to appease plagues and disasters that frequently occurred throughout the country

Gorgeous and gorgeous floats push along the Miyakooji Street, acting like a “modern version of Roomba” (sucking up bad plagues and cleaning them up)….

Especially this year, one child riding on the lead Nagatohoko float selected this year and his assistant, Habalokamuro. Two boys, their three fathers are brother and sister apprentices trained at the Michelin Guide 3-star Japanese restaurant “Gion Sakaki”.

Masaki Nishikawa, a 6th grader at Rakuo Elementary School, who was chosen as a child, is the eldest son of Masayoshi, the owner of “Gion Nishikawa,” a Japanese restaurant with 2 stars in the Michelin Guide.
Kondo Ogawa, a second grader at Suzaku Daishichi Elementary School, is the eldest son of Yosuke, owner of the one-star Japanese restaurant “Ogawa”.

The sons of the members of the Sakaki Ichimonkai were chosen to be this year’s children and bald men.
The Gion Festival is said to cost approximately 20 million yen…
Costumes, transportation, offerings, post-festival banquet, and much more…

That is why it is said that all the families of the children are rich bon vons.
Looking at the past generations of children, almost all of them are the sons of company presidents.
The reason why they are selected from rich families is because of the huge cost to the families of the children…

It is astonishing that all expenses are paid by individuals.
But this year, instead of company presidents as in the past, the sons of restaurant owners, rich or not, have been selected.

Also, looking at the elementary schools attended by the Gion Festival children in the past, most of them were Doshisha Elementary School, Ritsumeikan Elementary School, Kyoto Elementary School attached to Kyoto University of Education, and Notre Dame Gakuin Elementary School, but this year, children from public elementary schools have been chosen.

I feel that a wave of change is taking place little by little with the times.
I was happy to be able to watch the festival again this year. ❣️
Good luck for the rest of the festival!