Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and Meanings
Kyoto’s Gion festival has arguably the best-documented history of all festivals (<i>sairei</i>) in Japan, and studies of its development have heavily influenced our understanding of festivals in general. Yet we must expect that our knowledge of this history is partial at most. Extant arc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/6/545 |
| _version_ | 1797482814707335168 |
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| author | Mark Teeuwen |
| author_facet | Mark Teeuwen |
| author_sort | Mark Teeuwen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Kyoto’s Gion festival has arguably the best-documented history of all festivals (<i>sairei</i>) in Japan, and studies of its development have heavily influenced our understanding of festivals in general. Yet we must expect that our knowledge of this history is partial at most. Extant archives on its late classical and medieval history derive from a narrow group of festival actors, and are therefore intrinsically biased. This article looks at current reconstructions of the festival’s origin and development, addressing primarily the following questions: Which groups of actors are the historical record hiding from us? Is there a world of ritual action, beliefs, and concerns that we are missing entirely? Origin legends have been used throughout history to attribute meaning to the festival procedures. Today as in the past, these legends are always accompanied by narratives of continuity: at its core, it is implied, the festival remains unchanged. Such legends reflect the interests of actors and patrons of different ages, and changes in the festival’s context have required origin tales to be updated or even replaced. What do such narrative innovations reveal about the festival’s changing place in society at different historical junctures? Do such legends contain traces of the activities of actors who have since disappeared, taking their archives with them? |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:37:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8ec2f767af8f41ee94ef0db366ff139b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:37:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-8ec2f767af8f41ee94ef0db366ff139b2023-11-23T18:45:26ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-06-0113654510.3390/rel13060545Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and MeaningsMark Teeuwen0Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, 0315 Oslo, NorwayKyoto’s Gion festival has arguably the best-documented history of all festivals (<i>sairei</i>) in Japan, and studies of its development have heavily influenced our understanding of festivals in general. Yet we must expect that our knowledge of this history is partial at most. Extant archives on its late classical and medieval history derive from a narrow group of festival actors, and are therefore intrinsically biased. This article looks at current reconstructions of the festival’s origin and development, addressing primarily the following questions: Which groups of actors are the historical record hiding from us? Is there a world of ritual action, beliefs, and concerns that we are missing entirely? Origin legends have been used throughout history to attribute meaning to the festival procedures. Today as in the past, these legends are always accompanied by narratives of continuity: at its core, it is implied, the festival remains unchanged. Such legends reflect the interests of actors and patrons of different ages, and changes in the festival’s context have required origin tales to be updated or even replaced. What do such narrative innovations reveal about the festival’s changing place in society at different historical junctures? Do such legends contain traces of the activities of actors who have since disappeared, taking their archives with them?https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/6/545Gion festival<i>matsuri</i><i>otabisho</i><i>goryōe</i>ritual and meaning |
| spellingShingle | Mark Teeuwen Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and Meanings Religions Gion festival <i>matsuri</i> <i>otabisho</i> <i>goryōe</i> ritual and meaning |
| title | Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and Meanings |
| title_full | Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and Meanings |
| title_fullStr | Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and Meanings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and Meanings |
| title_short | Kyoto’s Gion Festival in Late Classical and Medieval Times: Actors, Legends, and Meanings |
| title_sort | kyoto s gion festival in late classical and medieval times actors legends and meanings |
| topic | Gion festival <i>matsuri</i> <i>otabisho</i> <i>goryōe</i> ritual and meaning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/6/545 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markteeuwen kyotosgionfestivalinlateclassicalandmedievaltimesactorslegendsandmeanings |