Here’s a covid update on the Gion Festival 2021. Priding itself in being virtually unstoppable, the Gion Festival continues this year. However, it’s a smaller scale than normal years due to Covid.

To prevent the spread of Covid, authorities asked people to avoid gathering during the Gion Festival. A Gion Festival without hundreds of thousands of festival-goers feels sobering. But the Gion Festival neighborhood associations, plus representatives from Yasaka Shrine (the festival’s patron shrine) and related organizations are undertaking Shinto purification rituals and other essential festival elements with determination and pride in tradition.

The general mood is subdued but upbeat and stalwart. There’s much focus on prayers for the end of Covid and a return to the usual grand Gion Festival in 2022.

The Gion Festival began in the year 869 A.D. Its original purpose was to end epidemics plaguing Kyoto and its inhabitants amidst the annual rainy season.

 As in 2020, this year the Gion Festival floats association decided to cancel the two Gion Festival float processions on July 17 and 24. This avoids congregating crowds and potential Covid risk.