Photo/Illutration People flock to Shijo-dori street in Kyoto on July 15 to watch “yamahoko” floats on display during the Gion Festival. (The Asahi Shimbun)

A procession of “yamahoko” floats has returned to Kyoto for the first time in three years for the Gion Festival, which was scaled down due to the novel coronavirus pandemic over the past two summers. 

A photo of the parade in a recent morning edition of The Asahi Shimbun conveyed the excitement, giving me the sense that I was amid the teeming revelers.

The first highlight of the monthlong festival, called “sakimatsuri,” is over, and the second one, “atomatsuri,” will soon start.

The Gion Festival has its origins in an epidemic during the Heian Period (794-1185).

The people of Kyoto were attempting to quell the curse of evil spirits, though the real cause apparently lay in the city’s poor hygienic environment.

Back then, sewage disposal was underdeveloped, and the flooding of the Kamogawa river in the summer must have created a situation beyond horrible, according to “Kyoto no Jinja to Matsuri” (Kyoto’s shrines and festivals), a book by Kenichi Honda.

Today, handwashing has become an established custom, and there are also masks and vaccines with which to combat an outbreak.

Even with modern countermeasures, however, COVID-19 still resists being brought under full control.

In what has become the pandemic’s seventh wave in the country, a record has been set for daily new cases.

The virus has no will, obviously, but I haven’t stopped feeling as if it is deliberately targeting children this year. They form the least-vaccinated group mainly because their symptoms have been mild even if infected.

Infections have exploded at schools, forcing many classes to be closed.

One blessing is that the summer holidays will start soon, but for youngsters, nothing could be a greater letdown than their holidays being ruined by resurging infections.

They may have to forfeit their eagerly awaited plans. Their sorry plight must be difficult for their parents to take, too.

We keep hearing from people of all ages about symptoms such as a severe sore throat and raging fever.

Now must be a critical moment, but how many more summers will we have to spend like this?

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 20

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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