Gion Festival Amulet: ちまき (zongzi)

During the Gion Festival, from Yasaka Shrine to various mountain hobo preservation houses, you will see ちまき (Chi Ma Ki rice dumplings), which looks a bit like a broom. Peaceful, special-looking peaceful objects, everyone will decorate these ちまき at the door and the porch.

Why can ちまき eliminate evil and ensure peace? Why is the item called ちまき (zongzi) used to ensure safety? Does it have anything to do with zongzi? Could it have something to do with Qu Yuan? You can go and see the Japanese zongzi. Unlike our triangular zongzi, the Japanese zongzi really look like a broom. So they don't really just pronounce the same thing, but this thing is basically a zongzi. So why can zongzi remove evil and keep safe?

This comes from an ancient Japanese story. One day, the head of Yasaka Shrine, the God of Bullhead, turned into a traveler and came to a person named Sumin Mirai to stay for one night. Although this Sumin Mirai family was poor, he was still enthusiastic. The taurus king was very happy to entertain travelers. When he left, Niu Tau Tian Wang handed over the Mao の wheel (the circle made of thatch) around his waist to Su Min Future, and told him that from now on, your children and grandchildren will be guarded by me. After that, no matter if there is a plague or other bad disasters, the Sumin clan can always pass through peacefully.

This is the origin of Mao's wheel's ability to eliminate evil and keep peace, so what does Mao's wheel have to do with zongzi? This is to read Japanese. Mao の round is to roll up thatch to make a ring. Mao is pronounced as ち (Chi) in Japanese, and it is pronounced as まき (Ma Ki) in Japanese, so some people call him Mao roll (ちまき), which is homophonic with the Japanese word for rice dumplings. Later, this thing that eliminates evil and protects safety has become the shape of Japanese rice dumplings, but there is no rice in it, so it cannot be eaten.

Some ちまき will write the descendants of Sumin in the future, which is also to claim that they are the descendants of Sumin in the future, so they can be protected by the King of Bullheads, such as the ちまき of Yasaka Shrine.

Some shrines also have large boats during summer festivals, so that people can travel during the period, and it also has the function of maintaining peace and so on.

During the Gion Festival, many Yamahoko will also sell their own ちまき, and the types of blessings are also different. The next time you come to Japan to participate in the Gion Festival, remember to visit the various Yamaho Preservation Houses during the Yoyama period to find your favorite ちまき!