祇園祭2008年

Gion Matsuri adalah festival tahunan yang diadakan di Kyoto. Katanya sih termasuk festival terbesar di Jepang. Bersama host family dan uqi, saya pergi ke Gion Matsuri pada tanggal 16 Juli, biasa disebut Yoiyama (宵山). Festivalnya sendiri sebenernya berlangsung selama bulan Juli, namun pada tanggal 16 (yoiyama), 15 (yoiyoiyama), dan 14 (yoiyoiyoiyama) bisa dibilang puncak acaranya karena ada parade (Yama-boko-junkou 山鉾巡行).

Gion Matsuri is an annual festival held in Kyoto.It is said to be the one of the biggest matsuri in Japan. With my host family and uqi, I went to Gion Matsuri at July 16th, called Yoiyama. The festival itself actually lasts all July, but at 16th (yoiyama), 15th (yoiyoiyama), 14th (yoiyoiyoiyama) are the peak of the festival cause there were some kind of parade (Yama-boko-junkou)

Menurut penuturan Masahiro-san (my host family), sekitar 1200 tahun yg lalu, di Kyoto ada wabah penyakit, pes atau kolera. Maka untuk menanggulangi wabah itu, orang2 Jepang di Kyoto berdoa pada Kamisama melalui Matsuri ini.

According to Masahiro-san (my host family), around 1200 years ago, there was a plague in Kyoto. To overcome that disaster, Kyoto’s people prayed to God through that Matsuri.

Saya sudah menduga klo acaranya akan meriah dan besar, tapi begitu sampai di sana, saya tidak menduga klo festivalnya sebesar itu. Rasanya seperti seluruh Kyoto merayakannya. Jalan2 ditutup untuk kendaraan bermotor, hanya pejalan kaki saja. Jalan yang lebar seperti Jalan Thamrin Jakarta penuh sesak dengan orang, orang Jepang tentunya, tapi orang asing pun banyak, seperti saya :p Sebagian besar wanita mengenakan yukata dengan motif yang indah dan menarik.

I knew the festival would be big, but when I arrived there, I didn’t thought it would be THAT big. I felt like the whole city of Kyoto celebrated it. The roads were blocked, only for pedestrians. A wide road like Thamrin road (in Jakarta) was full with people, Japanese and also foreigners like me:p Most of the women wore beautiful yokata.

Abis liat2 sana sini, poto sana sini, kita tutup hari yg melelahkan namun menyenangkan di Kyoto dengan menikmati segelas capucino dingin di sebuah cafe di Kyoto. Yang menarik dari pembicaraan dengan host family saya, adalah ternyata dia pun baru pertama kali melihat orang menari dan memainkan musik di Gion Matsuri itu. Kenapa ya?Mungkin karena matsurinya sendiri begitu besar, sehingga sulit untuk mengexplore semuanya. Tambah lagi acaranya sendiri diadakan pada hari kerja, jadi bagi orang yang tinggal di luar Kyoto mungkin aga sulit untuk menghadirinya.

After sightseeing and taking pictures here and there, we ended the tiring but fun day in a cafe. We talked a lot, and I found something interesting that even my host family, for the first time, saw people dancing and playing music at Gion Matsuri. Maybe because the matsuri itself is so big, so it’s kind of difficult to explore all of it. Moreover, the festival was held at workdays, so for people who lives outside Kyoto, visiting the matsuri maybe a little bit difficult.

For more information about Gion Matsuri, click here.