Ahead of the Gion Festival, the Ayagasahoko Preservation Society (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City) carried out the final assembly of "warding-off-evil *chimaki*" (ritual rice dumplings) on June 28; these are distributed to the public during the *Yoiyama* period and other festival events. Students joined the effort to complete 5,000 *chimaki*, preparing for the main festival proceedings.
Articles are excerpts from reports and news in the Kyoto Shimbun. Due to automatic translation, some expressions may not be accurate.
