By Patricia Belyea
KYOTO JP Charm. Delight. Joy. Around almost every corner in Kyoto lies a temple, a shrine, a garden, or other enchanting discovery.
On my first day back in Kyoto, I walked along the Kamo River to Yasui Konpira-gu, a small shrine in the Gion for Kushi Matsuri — the Comb Festival. This annual event expresses gratitude for used combs and hairpins.
Instead of being discarded, the hair accessories were honored for their fine service. At 1 pm, a monk led a memorial service before the kushizuka (comb mound).
After a lecture about traditional hair styles, a young woman dressed as a geisha apprentice performed the Black Hair Dance. Then something remarkable happened!
Thirty-five women in period costumes and traditional hairstyles, from the ancient Kofun Period to the present, began a graceful procession out of the shrine and into the streets of the surrounding neighborhood.
Each hairstyle had been recreated by members of the Kyoto Beauty Culture Club — using their own natural hair. No wigs!
Before leaving, I lingered to watch adults crawling through a large stone covered with paper amulets. This curious ritual — passing through the megalith and back again — is a physical prayer to break off bad relationships or invite good ones. Afterward, participants added their written wishes to the stone.
The shrine worships the poet-warrior Minamoto no Yorimasa, the exiled Emperor Sutoku, and the serpentine water god Ōmononushi no Kami. Legend tells of Ōmononushi hiding as a small snake in a woman’s comb case — hence the mound for old and broken combs.
As the procession disappeared from sight, I passed through the torii gate and continued on my way. A poster of two white dragons beckoned me into a nearby temple compound.
I entered main hall of Seiraiin, a sub-temple of Kenninji Temple, to view its painted ceiling. With a dozen others, I lay down under two powerful dragons with their piercing gazes.
Outside the sliding doors, a dry landscape garden with a symbolic mountain called for a moment of meditation.
Yes, that’s the wonderfulness of Kyoto — more to explore around almost every corner!
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ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria import vintage Japanese textiles, host in-person and online creative quilting experiences, and lead textile tours to Japan.
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