I read this article about a festival in Yamaga called “Ingo Hyotansai” (犬子（いんご）ひょうたん祭). It means “puppy gord festival”, and they don’t use the kanji for “hyoutan” (gord) because it’s written so: 瓢箪 (it may be on the test). As a dog lover, I had to check it out.
It turns out that it refers to a festival about a gourd containing a thumb-sized amulet made of a rice grain held by a puppy. The story is this: a puppy came out of nowhere to the Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto during a plague of the Edo period. When a priest gave the tired puppy sake from his gourd (my dog’s ears just perked), the pup recovered, and the plague subsequently subsided. Obviously, this quickly became a symbol of plague recovery.
Generally, the festival is held on June 15, but the Yamaga festival has been cancelled this year due to the corona virus.
Kinda ironic. - William
