Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(9)GionFestival.Thewagons,withtheshoulder-bornefloatsthatalternatewiththem,date
from the Tokugawa period, though the Festival is much older, having been started in the
tenth century in an attempt to terminate an epidemic. Each vehicle belongs to a ward ofthe
city, whose men don traditional dress for the occasion. Those on the roof are there to fend
off overhead wires.
The wars had dispersed many of the adherents of the Imperial court, so that there were
farfewerwhoresidedinthecapital,nowcalledKyoto,andthegreatannualfestivalswhich
hadbeencarriedonbythesecourtierscametoahalt.Theywererestartedbythetownsfolk,
andawaveofenthusiasmforparticipationinthissortofgayceremonialspreadthroughthe
cities—the Gion festival, which still trundles its great wagons through the Kyoto streets in
July, is an instance of this (
9
). Other new entertainments were developed: the
fūryū
dances
were among these and spread far and wide. They were great jollifications, often connected
with the Buddhist
bon
festival in the height of the summer, when the spirits of the dead
comebacktoearthandareentertainedwithsinginganddancing.Inthe
fūryū
,disguisesand
fancy dress were assumed, and there was dancing in the streets. Women's fashions became
much simpler in form so that movement was easier, but the materials were more elegant in
pattern, especially for the wives of merchants.
It was a time when a lively trade was being carried on with the outside world. In 1543
the first Europeans, some Portuguese, had landed in Tanegashima, an island to the south
