On July 7, 2025, six young boys from the Gion Festival's Ayakasaboko (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City) visited Yasaka Shrine in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, and participated in religious ceremonies such as the "Syasan no Gi" (a ritual to visit the shrine). In the hottest weather of the year, sweat trickling down their face-covered foreheads, they prayed for the safety of the festival.
In the afternoon of that day, young boys dressed in eboshi (black hats) and kariginu (hunting clothes) visited the shrine with officials from the Ayakasaboko Preservation Society. After completing the "Yui-no Gi" (ceremony to become the children of the local community) at the Tokiwaden (a hall of eternal life) of Yasaka Shrine, they moved to the main hall to participate in the "Syasan no Gi" (a ritual to visit the shrine). In a solemn atmosphere, they were given "Sugi-mamori" (a protective talisman) wrapped in the leaves of the sacred cedar tree, and received a letter of declaration from the chief priest as proof of their status as young boys.
Next, the "Osen-do Gi" (a ritual to visit the shrine) was held, in which the boys circled the main hall three times and bowed. The maximum temperature in Kyoto City that day reached 37.9°C, and as he walked, his father wiped the sweat from his face.
