The Gion Festival Kankosai was held in Kyoto City on July 24, 2025. Three mikoshi (portable shrines) left Shijo Otabisho (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City) and bravely paraded through the parishioners' area, concluding the lively Ato Matsuri.
The Kankosai is a Shinto ritual in which the mikoshi, which was brought from Yasaka Shrine (Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City) to the Otabisho during the Shinkosai on July 17 and placed there, is returned to the shrine.
At 5:00 pm on July 24, the Nakagoza carrying the main deity left the Otabisho facing Shijo Street, where the afterglow of the Yamahoko procession was still lingering. It was followed by the Higashigoza and Nishigoza. The bearers proceeded drenched in sweat, and when they raised the mikoshi high to the call of "Whit, whit," applause rang out from the roadside.
The three floats, each accompanied by many spectators, made a lively procession along their respective routes. They stopped off at Matatabi-sha (located in Kyoto City's Nakagyo Ward), a subsidiary shrine outside the grounds of Yasaka Shrine, before heading to the shrine itself.
The month-long Gion Festival will conclude on July 31st with the Summer Solstice Festival at Eki Shrine within the grounds of Yasaka Shrine.
