Aizen Festival

The Aizen Festival is touted as the first major summer festival in Osaka of the year. Along with the Tenjin Festival and the Sumiyoshi Festival, it’s also known as one of the three big Osaka festivals.
Known colloquially as “Aizen-san” (the other two big festivals get the same treatment) Aizen festival takes place in and around the temple, Aizendo. One of the big draws of the festival is the Hoekago Parade in which a “geisha” (a beautiful young woman — not the elaborately made-up figure you’re imagining) is carried aloft in a basket. “Hoekago” literally means “blessed treasure basket.” Parade participants chant “ho-e-ka-go” while carrying the young woman aloft.
The parade will be held on the first day of the festival.