KAB Event - Gion Matsuri Festival – The Treasure of the Niwatorihoko

Gion Matsuri Festival – The Treasure of the Niwatorihoko

The Museum of Kyoto

This event has ended.

The float parade of the Gion Matsuri Festival captures the imagination of its spectators, as it brings together the rich history and tradition only found in Kyoto. The sheer hugeness of the floats (“hoko”), with their luxuriously magnificent ornaments and accompanied by vibrant Gion music, are one of the main attractions, and the “Niwatorihoko” (Chicken float) is one of them.
The Niwatorihoko is said to appear in records from before the Onin War (1467-1477), and its design is said to come from one of two sources. The first theory is the design of the Long-crying chicken of Tokoyo (“Tokoyo no naganakidori”) featured in the story of “The heavenly rock cave” (“Ama no iwato”) in the “Kokiji” Records of Ancient Matters (Japan’s oldest historical record). The second theory is that it derives from the “Kanko” drum in the Yao period 2356 – 2255 BC) of Ancient China. Appropriate to the lengthy history and tradition of this float, the Niwatorihoko is decorated with many items of honorable history, from the hanging screens made from valuable carpet brought from overseas around the 16th or 17th century, to the “mizuhiki” (decorative cord) whose sketches were done by famous Kyoto-based artists of recent times. Also, the “Niwatoribokocho document”, a collection of documents from the Middle Ages about the Niwatoribokocho area of Kyoto, gives a precious insight into the development of Kyoto as a town. It contains medieval records of the Niwatorihoko float as well as those of the town laws, providing proof that the town-dwellers themselves were actively involved in the operation of their town. This exhibition invites viewers to experience the profoundness of the Gion Matsuri Festival, its history and its culture.
Please note that this exhibition is held on the second floor of the Kyoto Cultural Museum (“Kyoto Bunka Hakubutsukan”), in the “Kyo no matsuri” exhibition room.

Media

• Crafts

ADVERTISE ON KAB