Tatsumi Daimyōjin and the Shirakawa Canal

In front of you is one of the most photographed corners of Gion: the Tatsumi Bridge over the Shirakawa Canal and, on the corner, the tiny Tatsumi Daimyōjin shrine. The houses around it, with dark wood and fine lattices, belong to a district protected since 1976.

1A guardian of the south-east

“Tatsumi” is the old word for south-east, the direction of the dragon and the snake in the Chinese calendar. The name is usually explained by the shrine’s position south-east of the Imperial Palace, and its original role would have been to guard that direction. Today, though, its worshippers are a very particular group: the geiko and maiko of Gion come here to ask for progress in their arts, whether dance, song or shamisen.

2The tanuki of the bridge

Local tradition says a tanuki once lived on this bank: the raccoon dog to which Japanese folklore gives the power to change shape. It amused itself by tricking passers-by into wading across the Shirakawa instead of using the bridge. The fed-up neighbours dedicated a small shrine to it, and the pranks stopped. That is why, although many people call it “the Inari of Gion”, it honours not a fox but a tanuki.

A few steps away, by the canal, a stone bears a poem by Yoshii Isamu saying that in Gion, even as he sleeps, the water flows beneath his pillow.

The story does not appear in old documents: it is the neighbourhood’s oral memory, and it should be taken as such.

3What to look for

• The fence of red plaques, bearing the names of teahouses and performers who made offerings.
• The Tatsumi Bridge, of stone with a low railing.
• The bamboo blinds of the teahouses along the canal.