祇園祭 (ぎおんまつり - Gion Matsuri) - Gion Festival

祇園祭 takes place every year in 京都 (きょうと - Kyoto) and is considered one of the "big three" festivals of Japan. It happens throughout July, culminating in a parade of floats on the 17th. Several of the roads of the 祇園 (Gion) district are reserved for pedestrians and huge shrines stacked with people, intricate tapestries and carved gold leaf rumble through the streets. So huge, in fact, that overhead power lines have had to be relocated in the past to stop the shrines getting caught on them. Did I mention many of them have trees on top as well? I may be overstressing the point, but it's certainly been a while since I've heard "boring" and "festival" in the same sentence.

祇園祭 is the annual festival of 八坂神社 (やさかじんじゃ - yasaka jinja - Yasaka Shrine) which apparently started over one thousand years ago when a plague hit 京都. Several villagers carried wooden floats and set up sixty six 長刀 (なぎなた - naginata - pikes or halberds) as part of a purification ritual to end the plague. Over time, the festival has evolved into a celebration of wealth and trade and now local shrines, families and businesses take the opportunity to open their doors to the public throughout July and show off valuable heirlooms that people normally wouldn't have access to. People are even given the chance to have a look inside the floats before the day of the parade. Probably the most amazing thing about them is that despite their size, they're still constructed using traditional methods, which means no nails. Somehow they're sturdily held together by straw and interlocking wood.

The floats are collectively called 山鉾 (やまほこ - yamahoko). This is a combination of the two names; the big ones are called 鉾 (ほこ - hoko - spear/lance) and the smaller ones are called 山 (やま - yama - mountain). The 鉾 are truly massive - some are about twenty five metres tall and they can weigh up to twelve tonnes. There are nine of them to represent the 長刀 used in the original ritual.

Obviously, given their weight it would be impossible to lift them, so they sit on tractor tyre-sized wheels and teams of people in traditional dress heave them along with thick ropes.

Particularly impressive is watching them turn when they get to a corner. Like a well oiled machine, the pullers leap into action, placing chocks under the wheels and getting into position. Then, with a big roar, the men at the front motion like aircraft controllers with their big paper fans and the shrine is heaved around to thunderous applause from the crowd. They deserve it too - I imagine it's like turning a house!

The first 鉾 was shaped like a boat - massive, but not the twenty five metres promised. It didn't take too long before the really tall ones made their appearance.

And then, just when I thought we had seen the biggest of them, another one came out with a tree on top of it. By this point I could definitely understand the power line problem.

The smaller 山 are perhaps not as impressive as the 鉾, but many still weigh around one tonne and most are carried rather than wheeled, which must feel like carrying a Mini around all afternoon! Mannequins sit grandly on top, representing famous historical figures.

Some of them were even placed on spinning poles so that they moved as the float lurched along. This was obviously as good a reason as any to have a fight, according to the armoured mannequin brandishing his 長刀 against his opponent's 刀 (かたな - katana).

In all cases, I was struck by how vivid and beautiful the 山鉾 were - bright blues and reds, shining gold and gorgeous tapestries. Given how old 祇園祭 is, I expected everything would look a bit rustic, but apparently the 山鉾 are refurbished regularly and fabrics are imported from all over the world to keep them looking amazing. If you can make it to Japan during July, head over to 祇園 and try to at least make it to the 山鉾 parade - you'll be glad you did.

Failing that, you may still be in luck - they do take away too!