On July 13, 2025, a young boy from the Gion Festival's Nagatoboku (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City) participated in a "shrine visit ceremony" at Yasaka Shrine in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City. He rode a white horse to the shrine and prayed for the safety of the festival.
Kubo Kento (8 years old), a young boy wearing a gold eboshi hat, set off from the front of the meeting hall on horseback at around 10:00 a.m. His assistants, the twins Okayama Togo and Seita (both 10 years old), led the way with vermilion umbrellas, as they proceeded east along Shijo Street. People along the road took pictures of the gorgeous procession.
After arriving at the Minami-romon Gate, the main gate of the shrine, a religious ceremony was held in the main hall. Kubo Kento ascended to the center of the main hall with two kamuro (bald heads) and bowed. He received a "cedar amulet" wrapped in the leaves of the sacred cedar tree, and renewed his resolve for the parade.
The "ritual of visiting the shrine" is also known as "Oi-morai," and it is considered that the person has attained a status equivalent to that of a feudal lord with 100,000 koku of land. After the ceremony, the person is treated as a "messenger of the gods" within the Nagatohoko town.
