Kyoto Gion Matsuri Festival is held by the Yasaka-jinja Shrine as one of the three major festivals of Kyoto (others are Aoi Matsuri Festival by the Kamigamo-jinja and Shimogamo-jinja Shrines, and Jidai Matsuri Festival by the Heian-jingu Shrine), as well as one of three major festivals in Japan along with Tenjin Matsuri Festival held in Osaka and Sanno Matsuri Festival (or Kanda Matsuri Festival) held in Tokyo.
祇園祭は京都の八坂神社の祭りで、京都三大祭り（他は上賀茂神社・下鴨神社の葵祭、平安神宮の時代祭）、さらに大阪の天神祭、東京の山王祭（あるいは神田祭）と並んで日本三大祭りの一つに数えられる。