Япония: цивилизация, культура, язык 2022

«ISSUES OF JAPANOLOGY, vol. 9» St-Petersburg State Univ 2022 517 Heian Period who died in exile after having been unjustly accused of plotting against the emperor) which supposedly began in 951, less than a century after the first performance of Gion Matsuri in 869 5 . My research focused on the activities of one of the 24 active kô (groups who manage and organize the various performances that are part of the festival), Ôtori Mikoshi, an exclusively male group in charge of the oldest mikoshi used at Tenjin Matsuri. Composed of approximately 33 permanent members, Ôtori Mikoshi was largely closed to the outside world—new members could join based on the recommendation of old members, but they had to be male, living in the Kita Ward of Osaka and as close as possible to Osaka Tenmangu, and both capable and willing of fulfilling the obligations that came along with this membership. As keepers of one of the most sacred objects associated with the festival, they are expected to follow a set of rules implying purity and respect towards the celebrated deity: hair of its natural color, no tattoos or piercings, respect and proved desire to work for their families and communities. During interviews, many of them said that they wish to preserve the festival so that their children can enjoy this aspect of traditional Japanese culture, and lineages can be observed in the membership register: the current fuku- kômoto (adjunct leader) is the son of a former kômoto (group leader), his own son being a regular participant in the matsuri. The present kômoto ’s son has chosen a different path in life and does not usually attend the festival, a fact which makes his father hope that his future son-in-law might show more interest in their activities. Members of the Ôtori Mikoshi play a significant role in the life of the community outside the matsuri days: they coach sports teams at the local elementary school, organize 5 The official date mentioned on the website of Yasaka Shrine, the center of the festival ( https://www.yasaka-jinja.or.jp/event/gion/ , accessed on July 19, 2022).