Gion Matsuri’s Internationally Renowned Textile Collection
My Gion Matsuri fieldwork began in mid-July 1993 when I was working as a regional correspondent for The Japan Times newspaper. I also lived in the heart of the Gion Matsuri yamaboko floats neighborhood. Every time I walked out my door, the treasures adorning the yamaboko bedazzled me. The Gion Matsuri textiles, in particular, captured my attention. Where were they from? What stories did they tell? How did they end up in the Gion Festival? I wondered.