［Along with the fire festival at Kuramadera Temple and the cattle festival at Koryu-ji Temple, the Genbu Yasurai Festival is one of the three most unusual festivals in Kyoto. On the second Sunday of April every year, demon actors parade through the town, sounding gongs and drums and dancing. By entering the procession's flower umbrellas, the demons drive away evil spirits and plague, and are meant to contain the god of pestilence in the shrines. The origin of the festival is said to date back to the middle of the Heian period (794-1185), when it was held to quell the spread of an epidemic. Since then, Genbu-jinja Shrine has maintained the tradition as the birthplace of the Yasuraisai. The festival is now designated as a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset. Pray for good health and good fortune in Kyoto in spring.