Chapter 132: Welcome to the Gion Festival

Gion Festival.
Kyoto’s grandest festival, one of the largest in all of Japan.

By five in the morning, Shimogamo Shrine was already bustling with activity.

Maki Araki, dressed in her red-and-white shrine maiden attire, hurriedly paced through the courtyard. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the equipment covered with waterproof tarps tucked away in a corner. Her expression was tinged with complexity.

Yet today offered no time for Maki to dwell on such thoughts. Simply managing the preparations for the Gion Festival left her flustered and overwhelmed.

Though Shimogamo Shrine did not have its own festival floats or portable shrines, as one of Kyoto’s esteemed shrines, it was still responsible for performances in its district.

Jōhashi had also risen early, stepping out of his room by six.

More than the daytime float procession, he was keenly anticipating the evening’s exorcism martial performances.

Tonight marked the opening ceremony for the exorcism performances, the very first of their kind, requiring representatives from all the shrines to attend.

According to the prior lottery, the miko from Fushimi Inari Taisha would perform tonight.

“Fushimi Inari Taisha, huh.”

Jōhashi felt no need to revisit the details about Fushimi Inari Taisha; it was enough to know that it was Kyoto’s most renowned shrine, drawing the greatest number of worshippers within the city.

Compared to Shimogamo Shrine, nestled within a forest and sharing territory with other shrines, Fushimi Inari Taisha, occupying an entire mountainside alone, was clearly more prestigious.

“Teacher, will you be going to the festival today?”

To distinguish herself from the working mikos, Ariko Asano had foregone her shrine maiden robes for a blue kimono embroidered with a sword motif. Her long hair was neatly pinned up, adorned with a pure white pear blossom, radiating the elegance of a classic Japanese beauty.

“Hmm, it’s a rare chance to be in Kyoto after all.”

Jōhashi glanced at his phone.

“Suzuka said she wants to visit the festival today too; I should wake her up.”

“Oh, Suzuka-san’s coming along as well?”

Ariko asked, as if it were anticipated.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“In that case, I definitely want to stay by your side, Teacher.”

Ariko obediently trailed behind Jōhashi.

It took nearly an hour to rouse Suzuka.

Without a kimono, Suzuka simply wore a lace-trimmed dress, draped with her signature red scarf, then headed out.

One on each side: one a modern beauty, the other a traditional Japanese maiden.

Jōhashi attracted many glances as they walked.

At nine o’clock sharp, the float procession commenced.

Three portable shrines departed from Yasaka Shrine, passing by the Gion Hall, Pontocho Alley, Sanjo Bridge, and other landmarks, eventually gathering at Kawaramachi.

The entire procession lasted until four in the afternoon, followed by the main festival ceremony, the divine procession.

Throughout the day, various songs and dances performed, with fireworks and a temple fair illuminating the evening.

Only at eleven o’clock at night would the day’s festivities conclude.

“That’s the portable shrine of Susanoo-no-Mikoto.”

Ariko gazed in awe at the shrine carried by hundreds of people. The wooden palanquin was adorned with gilded decorations and topped with a phoenix. Susanoo-no-Mikoto was the principal deity of Yasaka Shrine, intimately linked with the main deity of Atsuta Shrine—Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, the heavenly sword—at which Ariko served as a shrine maiden.

No wonder she was so moved.

Jōhashi thought.

Meanwhile, Suzuka was incessantly snapping photos with her phone, occasionally tweeting updates—nothing less than a typical tourist.

“Jō-san, let’s go eat soba.”

Suzuka tugged at Jōhashi’s sleeve, pointing to a small roadside shop.

These shops along the float procession route were now all the rage, each boasting long lines.

On the street, countless men and women joyfully admired the uniquely shaped floats and the performers atop them.

After waiting a while, the three finally sat down to eat.

Kyoto’s soba differed somewhat from Tokyo’s, and especially in this sweltering summer heat, cold soba was an essential refreshment.

Just as Jōhashi lifted his chopsticks, his phone rang again.

After a brief call, he set the phone down.

“Was that Maki-nee?”

Ariko had already eaten several bites, a trace of broth lingering at the corner of her mouth.

“No, it was the Kyoto Exorcist Association.”

Jōhashi picked up noodles, instinctively cooling them before tasting them. Noticing they were cold noodles, he swallowed before continuing.

“There have been too many coincidences lately. I submitted some data to them, hoping they’d investigate. As expected, besides the incidents I encountered, other exorcists have reported similar occurrences.”

Jōhashi explained.

The sudden widespread appearance of sculptures and carvings resembling evil gods was unsettling to anyone.

Having submitted these records, feedback came swiftly.

“Just now, an exorcist from the association discovered another individual in the Fushimi district affected by one of those evil god sculptures. The influence seems profound. That person has hoarded a large quantity of gasoline and purchased knives. According to computer records, they appear poised to launch an attack on a company tomorrow.”

“Ah, that’s terrifying.”

Suzuka slurped her noodles and sighed rather ungracefully.

“Fortunately, that person has already been taken into police custody; the original plan likely won’t be carried out.”

Jōhashi had seen many vengeful spirits.

He had also seen many people plagued by such spirits.

Some claimed they committed crimes because they were possessed by spirits, hoping to elicit sympathy.

But Jōhashi knew well that sometimes, humans were far more fearsome than any vengeful spirit.

Deeds that even vengeful spirits could not commit were carried out by people with cold, unreadable expressions.

With that matter settled, Jōhashi finished his soba.

“Oh, it’s a message from a friend.”

Suzuka checked her Line messages.

“Is it that Vtuber friend?”

Jōhashi asked.

“Yes, she wants to take Suzuka to the temple fair!”

Suzuka stood up.

“Though I feel a bit uneasy leaving Jō-san with the little miko, I’m sure the little miko won’t cause any trouble. I’ll go ahead then.”

She promptly left the shop.

“That deer...”

Ariko clenched her fists.

“You two get along quite well.”

Jōhashi remarked.

In the afternoon, Jōhashi accompanied Ariko as they strolled through the Gion Festival, intermittently communicating with the Kyoto Exorcist Association by phone to receive the latest reports.

In fact, two months prior, shortly after Golden Week, incidents involving the evil god statues began surfacing in Kyoto.

Of course, most of these statues and markings were not initially discovered; many were found only after Jōhashi and other exorcists urged the sites to be reexamined.

An individual exorcist’s commission was limited; first, they might not notice a sculpture with subtle memetic influence. Second, even if they did, a single instance could easily be dismissed as coincidence.

If not for Jōhashi, who took on the entire exorcism commission for Shimogamo Shrine and engaged multiple times in a short span, it would have been very difficult to perceive the broader impact.

As evening fell, before they could make it to the temple fair, Jōhashi received a call from Maki Araki.

The first exorcism martial performance was about to begin.