Kyoto’s Gion Festival is a marvel every time, but Gion Matsuri 2023 was especially celebratory. July 2023 saw the first normal Gion Matsuri since covid led to the ancient festival being trimmed down to its most essential elements in 2020,
Dragons appear all throughout Kyoto’s ancient Gion Matsuri. Why are there so many dragons, appearing on so many different levels of the festival? What purpose do they serve? Are they symbols, or specific dragons known in culture and history? To
