祇園(ぎおん)

ぎおん
noun (proper)
Gion (Kyoto district)
proper-nounplace-nameculture
1. Gion, Kyoto's geisha district
The old entertainment district of Kyoto, east of the Kamo River around Yasaka Shrine, famous for its teahouses, geiko and maiko, and wooden townhouses. It stands for the traditional elegance of Kyoto.
祇園(ぎおん)を散歩(さんぽ)する。
Take a walk in Gion.
祇園(ぎおん)で舞妓(まいこ)さんを見(み)かけた。
I saw a maiko in Gion.
夕暮(ゆうぐ)れの祇園(ぎおん)の石畳(いしだたみ)を歩(ある)くと、昔(むかし)の京都(きょうと)に迷(まよ)い込(こ)んだような気(き)がする。
Walking Gion's stone-paved lanes at dusk, you feel as if you've strayed into old Kyoto.

The district grew up as the gate town of 八坂神社(やさかじんじゃ), formerly called the Gion Shrine. Not to be confused with its homophone 擬音(ぎおん) (sound effects).

Common expressions

  • 祇園祭(ぎおんまつり): the Gion Festival, Kyoto's great July festival
  • 祇園(ぎおん)の舞妓(まいこ)さん: the maiko of Gion
  • 祇園精舎(ぎおんしょうじゃ): Jetavana, the Buddhist monastery in India named in the opening line of 平家物語(へいけものがたり), the ultimate source of the name
general
Added 2026.9.24 21:22 · Revised 2026.9.24 21:24
31000/31046_gion