Negotiations of the Sacred

Negotiations of the Sacred offers a fresh perspective on one of Japan’s most famous festivals, the Gion Matsuri, held in Kyoto in July. Dating back more than a thousand years, the festival today features the parading of dozens of elaborate floats and portable Shinto shrines, accompanied by thousands of participants, through more than thirty downtown neighborhoods linked to Yasaka Shrine. Based on extensive fieldwork, this is the first book-length socio-anthropological analysis of the celebrated