Abura Tenjinyama: Gion Matsuri-2012!

This float enshrines Michizane Sugawara. Deified as Tenjin (Deity of thunder), a renowned scholar statesman who lived about 1,100 years ago. A small Tenjin shrine dedicated to Michizane, the patron of scholastic achievements, exists in the neighborhood of Abura no Kouji Street, after which this float is named. This float has a vermillion torii gate in front, and an image of Tenjin made in 1630 is in its gold foil-coated shrine. The statue, originally handed down through the generations by the local Kazahaya family, was later kept in a small sanctuary in the neighborhood. The float displays a real pine tree and pink ume (Japanese apricot) twigs decorated with beautiful, small bells. Its upper side hanging called a "Mizuhiki" was renewed in 2006 based on the design of a famous 15th century Mille-Fleurs and falcon tapestry in the collection of the Cluny Museum in Paris. The rare hanging is based on a painting by the late Ryuzaburo Umehara, a Western-school painter whereas the hangings on both sides are based on the works by the late Seison Maeda, a Japanese-school painter, both of whom are amongst the greatest painters of 20th century Japan.