old-japan-traditions-festivals-rituals-june &laquo; WordPress.com Tag Feed http://en.wordpress.com/tag/old-japan-traditions-festivals-rituals-june/ Feed of posts on WordPress.com tagged "old-japan-traditions-festivals-rituals-june" Mon, 20 May 2013 15:37:01 +0000 http://en.wordpress.com/tags/ en <![CDATA[Old Japan – Traditions, Festivals & Rituals – June]]> http://thriftytraveller.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/old-japan-traditions-festivals-rituals-june/ Tue, 22 May 2012 10:34:00 +0000 Thrifty Traveller http://thriftytraveller.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/old-japan-traditions-festivals-rituals-june/ Gion Festival

This postcard’s caption is not easy to follow.

Gion Festival is probably Japan’s most famous festival but it takes place in July not June.

Jet Avana Vihala probably refers to the Buddhist term Jetavana Vihara but it is not clear what connection it has with the Gion Festival.

A Mikoshi is a ‘divine palanquin’ and these are used in the processions during the Gion Festival. They look like lavishly decorated miniature temples mounted on four poles which are carried on the shoulders of bearers like those dressed in white in the postcard.

Not sure who the scary guys with the hairy faces and high heel clogs are – the ‘funy palmers’ perhaps?

A couple of the men in white are carrying straw boaters which probably dates the postcard to 1920s or earlier.

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