06 · Kagai 01
Gion Kobu
The busiest and most visited kagai. Hanamikoji-dori south of Shijo is lined with ochaya (teahouses) with lattice fronts and red lanterns; side lanes such as Shinbashi-dori by the Shirakawa stream are quieter and protected as a historic townscape. Expect crowds in the evening.
- Location
- The largest of the five kagai, in Higashiyama Ward east of the Kamo River. Its streets lie on both sides of Shijo-dori, bounded roughly by Shinbashi-dori to the north, Kennin-ji temple to the south, Yamato-oji/the river to the west and Higashioji-dori to the east. Hanamikoji-dori is its best-known street.
- History
- Gion grew up as a teahouse town at the gate of Yasaka Shrine and flourished through the Edo period. In 1881 the Kyoto prefectural governor divided the Gion quarter into two associations; the larger part became Gion Kobu, the smaller north-eastern part became today's Gion Higashi. The Miyako Odori was created in 1872 for Kyoto's first Exposition, with choreography by Inoue Yachiyo III, and has been the district's spring stage ever since. The first Kaburenjo opened in 1873 in a converted Kennin-ji sub-temple and the present building dates from 1913; it is a registered tangible cultural property and reopened after a six-year seismic renovation begun in 2016.
- Dance school
- Kyomai, Inoue school (only in Gion Kobu)
- Theatre
- Gion Kobu Kaburenjo (Hanamikoji-dori, next to Kennin-ji). Gion Corner is staged in its annex theatre (the foundation's English pages call it the Annex Theatre).
- Crest
- Eight linked dango (tsunagi-dango)
- Performances
- Miyako Odori — April 1-30 every year
- Onshukai — Early October
- Gion Corner — Year-round, daily at 18:00 and 19:00 (about 50 minutes to one hour)
- Miyako no Nigiwai (Joint Performance of the Five Kagai) — Late June, one weekend
- Hassaku (August 1 greeting rounds) — August 1 every year, in the morning
- Kotohajime (December 13 year-end greetings) — December 13 every year
- Nearest stations
- Gion-Shijo Station (Keihan Line), about 8 min on foot to the Kaburenjo
- Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station (Hankyu Line), about 10 min on foot
- City bus stop 'Gion' (routes 86/206 from Kyoto Station)
- Walking notes
- From Gion-Shijo Station walk east along Shijo-dori, turn south into Hanamikoji-dori; the Kaburenjo is on the left near the end, before Kennin-ji. Please do not stop, photograph or touch geiko/maiko on their way to work; private lanes off Hanamikoji have signs prohibiting photography.
- Official site
- https://miyako-odori.jp/