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Kyoto has been the center of Japanese culture for more than a thousand years, and there are as much as 17 World Heritage Sites in Kyoto Prefecture. All their buildings and gardens are safeguarded under the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. But what to do with the social practices and rituals of the Old Capital, such as Gion Matsuri? Actually, in order to preserve the float ceremony of the Kyoto Gion Festival, it was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The festival itself covers the entire month of July, when various ceremonies are performed by the residents of the city, who maintain the traditions and transmit them to the following generations. Today, each of 33 districts possessing the Yamaboko floats has its own Cultural Preservation Association.
