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.
Students have been participating in the *chimaki* production process as part of their coursework since 2001. On this day, approximately 40 students—including those from Bukkyo University and Kachō Girls' High School—worked alongside members of the Ayagasahoko Preservation Society, bringing the total workforce to around 100 people.
Participants worked by hand to attach ceremonial paper wrappers (*noshi-gami*) and tags to the *chimaki* before packing them into bags. Ryo Ogochi, a 20-year-old second-year student at Bukkyo University, remarked, "I was impressed by how many people are involved and how carefully each one is being made."
Many of the Ayagasahoko Preservation Society's board members reportedly helped out with the festival during their own student days. Board Chairman Susumu Terada (77 years old) expressed his delight, saying, "We have worked with the hope of passing this tradition on to the next generation, and things are really taking shape nicely."
The *chimaki* will undergo a ritual blessing during the *Kippu-iri* ceremony on July 1 and will be available for distribution starting on the afternoon of July 12.
