In July, Kyoto celebrates the historic Gion Matsuri festival, one of Japan's most famous and long-running traditions. With origins dating back to 869, the event draws more than one million people each ...

The most renowned of all traditional Japanese festivals, Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri has a storied history dating back to the year ...

Taking place every July, the monthlong Gion Matsuri is not just Kyoto’s largest event, it’s also considered to be one of the biggest and most famous festivals in Japan. Dating back to 869 C.E., it all ...

Japan’s love of defining the “three greatest” in each category extends, of course, to its festivals. A look at three top summer events in Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo and the history of spirit-pacification ...

Gion Matsuri performers pull a massive hoko float through the streets of Kyoto, Japan, in 2018. Hoko float are designed with a tall poll in the center, the shingi, meant to summon a plague god who ...

During these three special days: the entryways to some of Kyoto’s most prized – and private – traditional homes in its old kimono district are flung open to the public, giving a rare glimpse into ...

A towering float – complete with a wooden pole that easily rises six storeys – heaves into view. The float is elaborately decorated with tapestries festooned with gold, and has jet-black wheels taller ...

With a history that's over 1,000 years old, Kyoto Gion Matsuri is one of Japan’s biggest and most important festivals. First held in 869 as a way to fight an epidemic that was spreading across Japan ...