Jidai-Matsuri
The Jidai-Matsuri ( Japanese 時代 祭 }, Festival of Ages ) is celebrated annually on October 22nd in Kyoto , Japan .
This matsuri commemorates the move of the imperial capital to Kyoto in 794 and was first celebrated in 1895.
The Jidai-Matsuri is one of the well-known 3 big festivals of Kyoto, the others are Aoi-Matsuri on May 15th and Gion-Matsuri on May 14th – 17th. July.
The festival was originally created to lift the mood in Kyoto after the Imperial Court and the capital moved to Tokyo in 1868.
First, the mikoshi (portable shrines) of the first and last emperors residing in Kyoto are carried to the Old Imperial Palace , after which a procession of around 2,000 people, accompanied by drums and five bands, sets out on the five-hour, 2 km long path to the Heian Shrine . Seen with European eyes, the mood of this move is rather sad. Apart from the instrument players, the move takes place in the deepest silence of both the actors and the audience.
Participants in the procession wear costumes reminiscent of different times in Kyōto's history, starting with the modernized soldiers of the Meiji period , who epitomize the end of its function as the capital in 1868, going back to costumes from the Heian period .
Until the end of World War II, no women were allowed to attend the festival.
Web links
- Information on the Heian-jingū website - English
- Information on the Kyoto Shimbun website - English