Kankō Boko | The Rooster That Fooled a Fortress
[Music] The Kenko Boo. Kenko is the Japanese name for the Hangu Pass in Chinese Shangi Province. It’s an historic strategic fortification on the Great War. The theme for this float is inspired by a unique historical episode during the Waring States period. Lord Mangchang ofQi was admired for welcoming all kinds of people and for recognizing talent where others didn’t. He had taken under his protection a man whose talent was to perfectly mimic any sound. When Lord Chang and his men were in a life ordeath situation, Hangu, and needed to escape through the pass in the middle of the night, the man mimicked a rooster’s crowing so well he tricked the pass guards into believing it was dawn. They opened the gates and unwittingly granted the men their freedom.
Kankō Boko, one of the great floats of Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri, tells a tale from ancient China’s Warring States period.
When Lord Meng Chang was trapped at Hangu Pass, his follower—gifted with the uncanny ability to mimic any sound—saved the day.
By perfectly imitating a rooster’s crow at midnight, he tricked the guards into opening the gates, allowing Meng Chang and his men to escape.
This legendary story lives on through the striking Kankō Boko float, reminding us how wit can triumph over might.
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AloJapan.com