Gion Goryoe Ceremony

…(3) Furyu-gei (elegant arts) Furyu originally meant elegance, but in the Heian period it came to mean praising the beauty of elaborate gardens, furnishings, costumes, floats, and other forms of art, and festivals and arts that flaunted such beauty came to be called Furyu. A representative example of this was the Gion Goryoe festival at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, which believed that disasters such as epidemics, floods, and droughts that occurred in the summer were the curses of the dead souls of people who had died violently while harboring bitterness, and sought to appease and pacify them with a procession of gorgeous floats and powerful music such as gongs and drums (Goryoe). In late spring, the falling cherry blossoms were seen as a sign of the scattering of plague gods, and children dressed in gorgeous costumes would make a procession to Imamiya Shrine in Murasakino (Kyoto City) playing drums and flutes (Imamiya Festival). Since the Heian period, customs have been seen in various places where troupes dressed in elegant attire would play music and perform spectacular dances to appease plague gods and send off the dead.

*Some of the terminology used in reference to "Gion Goryoe" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…(3)風流芸　風流はもと雅（みや）びやかの意であったが，平安時代には趣向を凝らした庭園や調度，衣装，山車（だし）などの造形美を賞する語となり，そうした造形美を誇示した祭りや芸能を風流の名で呼ぶようになった。その代表は京都八坂神社の祇園御霊会（ぎおんごりようえ）で，夏季に発生する疫病や水害，干ばつなどの災害は，怨み（うらみ）をのんで横死した人々の亡魂のたたりだと考え，それを御霊とあがめて華麗な山車と鉦や太鼓などの強烈な囃子の行列で慰撫鎮送しようとした(御霊会)。晩春には，桜花の散るのを疫神飛散の兆しとみて，華美な扮装の子女が鼓笛を奏して紫野(京都市)の今宮神社へ道中したのも同じ民俗で(今宮祭)，平安朝以後，疫神，亡魂鎮送のために風流を飾り立てた一行が囃子を奏し，はなやかな踊りを見せたりする風俗が各地で見られるようになった。…

※「祇園御霊会」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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