We participated in the Gion Festival parade again this year!

Have you ever heard of a baggage teahouse?
They have been around in Kyoto for a long time and can be seen at some of the Gion festivals.

One of them is located on Mt. Taishi.
If the word “Taishi” rings a bell, great!
Yes, it is Mount Taishi because it enshrines Prince Shotoku.

This baggage teahouse is displayed on Taishiyama during the Gion Festival Yoiyama.

It looks like this from the back.
Tea utensils such as tea whisks, tea bowls, and kettles are placed in these drawers and boxes.
The two boxes are carried by a balance, which is absurdly heavy.
People in the old days must have been very strong.

Taishiyama is the only mountain where the maki is made of cedar (the other floats and mountains are made of pine).
Therefore, the design of the tea bowl used is also made of cedar.
They are made by Zensho Yamaoka, a traditional craftsman of Kyoto-yaki and Kiyomizu-yaki ceramics.

The view over there is also of cedars.
Bold yet delicate.
It is a tea bowl suitable for the pilgrimage on the day of Hare.

This is the second time this year that I have served tea at the parade.
I feel that various connections are expanding.