Mark Teeuwen is Professor of Japanese Studies at Oslo University, Norway. He has published broadly on the history of Japanese religion, and is the co-author of A History of the Ise Shrines: Divine Capital (Bloomsbury, 2017).

• Introduction1. Origins and the Festival’s First Phase (c. 900-1200)2. The Medieval Transformation of the Festival (c. 1200-1467)3. The Revival of the Festival and its Early Modern Consolidation (1500-1871)4. The Crisis of Modernity: the Festival’s Decline and Reinvention (1871-1942)5. The Post-war Revival and Contemporary Dynamics (1947-today)6. ConclusionBibliographyIndex

An outstanding history of one of the most important festivals in Japan. Situating the Gion Festival firmly within the social and political history of the ancient capital of Kyoto, Mark Teeuwen paints a dramatic picture of how the structure, sponsorship and meanings of the Gion matsuri have changed over the centuries. This vibrant history should be of interest to scholars of festivals, cities, historical change and contemporary rituals.