06 · Kagai 05
Gion Higashi
Tucked behind the busy Gion crossing, the lanes are short and quiet, with a handful of ochaya and okiya. Gion Odori is staged at Gion Kaikan, a theatre hall at the foot of the Yasaka Shrine steps (Gion Ishidan-shita).
- Location
- The smallest kagai: three short streets on the north side of Shijo-dori between Hanamikoji-dori and Higashioji-dori, in Higashiyama Ward, right beside Yasaka Shrine. It is a separate district from Gion Kobu, which occupies the rest of Gion.
- History
- Gion Higashi and Gion Kobu were one Gion quarter until 12 May 1881, when the Kyoto prefectural governor Kitagaki Kunimichi divided it into two associations; the north-eastern block became what is now Gion Higashi. The district was rebuilt on the former site of the Zeze domain's Kyoto residence. Its stage performance, Gion Odori, is held every November and is the only main odori of the five kagai staged in autumn.
- Dance school
- Fujima school (Nihon buyo)
- Theatre
- Gion Odori is performed at Gion Kaikan (323 Gion-machi Kitagawa, Higashiyama-ku); the Gion Higashi Kabukai office is at 319 Gion-machi Kitagawa.
- Crest
- Eight linked dango with the character 東 (secondary source)
- Performances
- Gion Odori — November 1-10 every year
- Miyako no Nigiwai (Joint Performance of the Five Kagai) — Late June, one weekend
- Nearest stations
- Gion-Shijo Station (Keihan Line), exit 7, about 5 min on foot toward Yasaka Shrine
- Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station (Hankyu Line), about 10 min on foot
- Higashiyama Station (Subway Tozai Line), about 10 min on foot
- City bus stop 'Gion' (routes 86/206), immediately
- Walking notes
- From the Gion crossing (Shijo x Higashioji) walk north one block and turn west; the kagai streets run parallel to Shijo. Do not confuse it with Hanamikoji south of Shijo, which is Gion Kobu.
- Official site
- https://www.gionhigashi.com/
Sources
- 五花街の紹介 | 京都をつなぐ無形文化遺産 (Kyoto City)
- 祇園東について | 【公式】京都 祇園東歌舞会
- 祇園をどり Gion Odori | 祇園東歌舞会 (official)
- 第67回 祇園をどり | 京都観光Navi (Kyoto City)
- 五花街の紹介 | ookinizaidan.com