On July 7, 2024, Yasaka Shrine in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City held a "shrine visit Ceremony" where the children of the Ayakasahoko (Ayakoji-dori Muromachi Nishi-iru, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City) of the Gion Festival pray for the safety of the festival. Six children carrying the children participated in the ritual in the scorching heat.
The six children will lead the Ayakasahoko in the Yamahoko procession (July 17th) of the Gion Festival's pre-festival. On this day, they went through the "Yuino Ceremony" to be welcomed as children of the Yamahoko town, and then participated in the shrine visit Ceremony at the main hall of Yasaka Shrine. After receiving "Sugi-mori" (a cedar charm) in honor of the sacred tree, the chief priest Nomura Akiyoshi said to them, "Please parade with energy." The final ceremony was the "Osen-do Ceremony," in which they walked around the main hall three times clockwise and bowed before the altar.
