Even if they are crowded together and even if they struggle to turn around, they can't dampen everyone's enthusiasm.

The surging heat dominated the air in Luozhong.

To say that "all the people in Kyoto are here" would be an exaggeration.

It can be said that "most of the people in Kyoto are here", which is accurate.

As the climax of the Gion Festival, the "Yamboko Parade" has such appeal.

As time passed, and as the scheduled start time approached, people at the starting point stretched their necks in anticipation, eagerly watching the Yamabokos lined up in a long line in the middle of the street.

To describe it in easy-to-understand terms... Yamaboko is actually a uniquely shaped float.

Common people designed various yamabokos of different shapes and sizes to express different wishes.

For example, "Mantis Mountain" is named after the mantis-shaped body on the roof of the car. During the parade, the mantis body in "Mantis Mountain" shook its head and waved its pair of pincers to convey to passers-by that they are not afraid of powerful enemies and fight bravely. spirit.

[Note: Yushen body: can be understood as a statue of a god]

Another example is "Zhanchu Mountain". The god-like figure on the roof holds a fishing rod in the right hand and an ayu in the left hand, imitating the posture of the queen of the ancient Japanese shrine fishing for ayu and divining war. The three scenes of Japan are depicted on the top of the mountain cart, which is fascinating. .

There are so many types of Yamabokos, such as Nagatoboko, Hanguboko, Taizi Mountain, and Baochang Mountain. There are more than 30 Yamabokos in total, which is dizzying for people to see.

According to convention, the Yamaboko who leads the tour must be the Nagatoboko.

The so-called "Nagato Hoko", as the name suggests, is a Yamaboko with a long sword inserted in the roof.

It is not only the first Yamaboko, but also the most exquisitely shaped Yamaboko with the longest history.

Finally, after much anticipation...it's time to start the parade!

At this moment, people's anticipation rose to its peak, and the heat in the air suddenly expanded.

Under the gaze of expectant eyes, the child on the long sword slowly stood up and raised the sword in his hand.

Zhi'er - can be understood as the messenger of the gods.

The purpose of the child at the Gion Festival is to purify the procession path so that Yamaboko can lead to the divine world.

Before the parade, young children are carried up the mountain by strong men.

Except for the child of Nagatoboko, who is played by a 10-year-old boy, the other children of Yamaboko are all dolls.

The child on the long sword has an important mission.

He wants to cut off the rope on the mountain with a sword, which symbolizes "opening the barrier" so that the mountain can lead to the divine realm.

The child, who was dressed up like a porcelain doll, raised the knife in his hand with a solemn gesture as he had rehearsed beforehand, and made a stroke - the rope broke with a sound.

At this point, the "Shanboko Patrol" officially begins!

"Brothers! Show your courage!"

The sound head on the long sword stretched out his throat and shouted with great momentum.

Entotori - the commander of the Yamaboko motorcade. During the parade, the Entotori stood side by side on the front of the car, waving folding fans and directing the Yamabokos to move forward.

As soon as Yuantouqi finished speaking, the draggers gathered around the Nagatohobo suddenly cheered, then spread their arms and worked together to push the Yamaboko.

Drag hand - It is not difficult to tell from the name that this is the person responsible for pulling the yamaboko. Each yamaboko requires 40-50 drag hands to pull and lead it.

Soon, Nagatoho seemed to be injected with life, swaying slightly, and then slowly moved forward.

Immediately afterwards, the other Yamabokos behind also started to follow the Nagatoboko.

How could such a grand celebration be without music?

Accompanied by the shouts of the yintotori and the draggers, rhythmic music came out - Zazi Fang began to play music.

Zakogata - usually consists of 8 trumpet players, 8 flute players and 2 taiko drums. More than 30 pieces of music are usually played during the parade.

The person responsible for conducting, the person responsible for pulling, the person responsible for steering, the person responsible for playing music... everyone works together and performs their own duties, so that each Yamaboko can be turned into a "moving picture".

Whenever the wind blows, sparks fall from the candle lamps and fly into the air, giving the sound of the taiko drum a dreamy color.

When the Yamabokos finally started to move, and when the shouts and drums lingered in my ears, it was difficult to describe the liveliness and joy of the scene with specific words.

In a short time, more than thirty Yamabokos all drove up the street and formed a huge queue. The scene was quite spectacular.

Yamaboko doesn't move very fast, it can even be said to be cumbersome.

Not long after, the convoy successfully arrived at the first turning point on the patrol road.

Yin Toutou shouted:

"Turn around! Turn around!"

The dragsmen slowed down, and the drivers swarmed up and began to prepare for the Yamabok turn.

The driver - the person who adjusts the direction of the wheels in the Yamaboko team. When the Yamaboko turns, the driver will lay bamboo boards near the wheels, and then sprinkle water on the bamboo boards to facilitate the turning of the wheels.

As the drivers were busy going about their business, the patrol site fell into a brief period of busyness.

Because they were turning, the speed of the convoy inevitably slowed down and almost came to a standstill.

At this moment...a sudden change occurred!

Dozens of serious-looking warriors suddenly emerged from the crowd on the street.

They kept their faces solemn, kept their mouths shut, and pushed away the crowd in front of them with brute force. Their actions were rough and indifferent, causing a lot of complaints.

Because the attention of the crowd was focused on the parade, the unusual behavior of these warriors did not immediately attract widespread attention.

After squeezing through the crowd, these warriors suddenly rushed towards the Yamabokos in the middle of the street like hungry wolves!

The first one to bear the brunt was Nagatoho, who was at the front of the convoy.

Upon seeing this, the sound head on the long sword immediately reprimanded:

"Hey! Who are you! What do you want to do?! You are so rude! How can you come and collide with Yamaboko?!"

The samurai ignored the warning, took off the porcelain bottles from their waists, and threw them up the mountain.

Click, click, click, click, click!

As the porcelain bottle shattered, the transparent liquid inside immediately splashed out.

Suddenly, chaos descended.

"Hey! You bastards! What do you want to do?!"

"What the hell is this?"

"It's oil! It's kerosene!"

Oil - when I heard this word, I took the sound of the long sword up and down, swung my hands, and moved the car, I was instantly panicked, my face turned pale with fright, and I suddenly became a mess.

Similar scenes also occurred on other trains.

Groups of samurai rushed towards each of the carriages, and it was clear at a glance that they were well prepared.

There were 8 or 9 carriages attacked, and they were mainly concentrated at the front of the queue with the largest number of people.

Roughly calculated, this group of warriors who suddenly attacked the convoy numbered more than a hundred people!

As we all know, wherever there are many people, whether it is joy, sadness, anger, or fear, no matter what kind of emotion it is, it will spread and spread rapidly.

Many people standing on the edge of the street corner could not see the current situation of the convoy at all, and they had no idea what was going on. They could only hear the increasingly noisy and chaotic movements, as well as the increasingly fierce shouts, and they couldn't help but panic and fear.

When they saw these warriors throwing fire oil, many people guessed what they planned to do.

Sure enough... after throwing the kerosene into Yamaboko, they took out the kerosene sticks from their arms...

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Run away! Run away!"

"These lunatics are planning to set a fire!"

To describe the current state of affairs as "fast-changing" is really appropriate.

From the time this group of unidentified warriors suddenly appeared to now, less than 1 minute has passed.

At the moment when everyone at the scene was frightened by these guys who were trying to set fire... a sharp arrow penetrated the air and hit the chest of a guy holding a fire folder!

The man didn't even have time to scream, his eyes widened and bulged, and he screamed for life.

This arrow is just the beginning.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows shot out from a distance one after another, accurately hitting the vital parts of those madmen.

When everyone looked in the direction where the arrow was shot, they suddenly saw a young samurai wearing a light green feather fabric.

He was holding a bow and a bow, and riding on his crotch was a fat man carrying a spear.

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ps: The repeated mention of "Shanboko Patrol" in the previous article is actually a foreshadowing! (Leopard Hi.jpg)
Chapter completed!