The highlight of the Gion Festival in Kyoto which started from 14C is “Yamahoko (=floats)” cruise, people pulled them through the street to gather “Ekijin” (the evil god of plague), and drive out. According by the legend, “Ekijin” prefer bright things, so beginning of the float has sword like “Hoko”. Derive from that, floats with pine trees and umbrellas were also made. For a few days in the Festival, these “Yamahoko” set on the street, designed in ancient time (base on people thoughts), face the modern city. The “Hoko” of each float extendeds towards sky, still seems to be effective.
