Faith as Authenticity: Kyoto's Gion Festival in 2020
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the cancellation of public events throughout Japan. Kyoto's Gion Festival was no exception. In an attempt to preserve what they regarded as the festival's "true meaning," different groups of actors involved in the Gion Festival came up...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
2021
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 48, Issue: 1, Pages: 125-163 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Gion Festival
/ Authenticity
/ Spirituality
/ Tradition
/ COVID-19 (Disease)
/ Pandemic
/ Geschichte 2020
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion BN Shinto KBM Asia TK Recent history |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the cancellation of public events throughout Japan. Kyoto's Gion Festival was no exception. In an attempt to preserve what they regarded as the festival's "true meaning," different groups of actors involved in the Gion Festival came up with alternative ways of bringing the gods to the city. In this article, I trace the tensions that surfaced during the process of composing an alternative festival format. I also analyze media narratives that ex post presented the modified 2020 Gion Festival as a sincere expression of faith and prayer and as uniquely authentic to its "true meaning."The alternative festival offers a striking example of ways that authenticity can be successfully constructed and projected in a time of crisis that challenges or otherwise alters the continuity of established practices and traditions. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.18874/jjrs.48.1.2021.125-163 |