yakasa+shrine

=Yasaka Shrine=

Yasaka Shrine is one of the most famous shrines in all of Kyoto, dedicated to Susa-no-o, the god of prosperity and good health, as well as his wife and 8 children. Construction started in 665 and ended about three hundred years later in 995. From 1871 to 1946 Yasaka became the first rank government supported shrine. The only buildings that remain today are the buildings built during reconsruction in 1654. In 869, the Omikoshi, or portable shrines, of Gion Shrine paraded through Kyoto to ward of an epidemic that had hit the city. This parade was the beginning of Gion Matsuri, an annual festival that has become world famous.

Many people visit this shrine every July for its amazing summer festival, the Gion Matsuri. People come from all over the country come just to see the huge floats and participate. It's celebrated all of July and is celebrated to "appease the gods of thought to cause fires, earthquakes, and floods." In April, the shrine also becomes very busy due to the cherry blossoms blooming. Today, the Yasaka Shrine is very important to the Kyoto inhabitants. And because it is close to the shopping districts, worshippers drop by frequently for a prayer to Susa-no-o.