🏮 Kanikakuni Matsuri

かにかくに祭

Kyoto (Shirakawa Tatsumi Bridge Area) · Every year on 8 November

Traditional performing arts

55 days to go
Rooms around Kyoto fill up while the festival is on.

The Kanikakuni Festival is a gathering held in memory of the Meiji-era poet Yoshii Isamu, at the Kanikakuni Monument by the Shijo Keihan area along the Shirakawa River in Gion, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto. As an event that keeps alive the poetic sentiment of Yoshii, who loved Gion deeply, it brings together those involved in Gion's culture, including the local Gion Kobu association. The monument is inscribed with the poem "Kanikakuni Gion wa koishi neru toki mo makura no shita o mizu no nagaruru," preserving for later generations the feelings Yoshii held for Gion. On the day, geiko and maiko attend and offer flowers, and a quiet time is held to remember the deceased. Viewing is free, and while access is convenient at about a 10-minute walk from Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan Main Line, the setting along the Shirakawa River is full of Gion atmosphere, allowing visitors to see Kyoto's distinctive performing arts culture up close.