The Jidai-Matsuri Festival, one of the biggest festivals in Kyoto, takes place on October 22nd. Part costume show, part history lesson, the festival procession of several hundred marchers dressed in exquisite costumes from the various periods of Kyoto history winds its way from the Old Imperial Palace to Heian-jingu Shrine.
Heian-jingu Shrine enshrines two emperors, Emperor Kammu, who moved the capital to Kyoto, and the last emperor from Kyoto, Emperor Komei. This festival began on 1100th year of the founding of the capital. On Oike-dori Street, a viewing platform is set up to accommodate viewers.
About the Jidai-Matsuri Festival
The Jidai-Matsuri Festival began in 1895, 1100 years following the relocation of the capital to Kyoto in 794, and commemorates the founding of the Heian-jingu Shrine. The Heian-jingu Shrine was built to slow Kyoto's decline following the transfer of the capital to its present location in Tokyo. To celebrate this transition, a parade displaying the stylistic changes Kyoto underwent in each period during its long reign was established in commemoration of the day Kyoto was inaugurated as the capital on October 22nd.
Initially, the parade was a tiny affair with only six procession lines and in the aftermath of WWII, the festival was suspended from 1944 to 1950. Today, the procession continues to expand and there are currently 20 procession lines with roughly 2000 people and over 70 horses. The parade is roughly 2 kilometers in length and continues to grow.
The Jidai-Matsuri Festival was always meant to showcase the true essence of each period over 1,000 years and it is not simply a parade of period costume. There is a wealth of knowledge on how the ceremony and traditional events held during the festival relate to the emperor, and this can all be very difficult to untangle. For your convenience, persons knowledgeable about Kyoto dye works and crafts have researched clothing, furnishings, and ritual equipment to create the most realistic reenactment possible. Through their research, they have also recovered ancient music and dances. Extravagant picture scrolls are also displayed in the procession.
Since the time when the Jidai-Matsuri Festival was founded, residents have formed groups to perform in the festival and these groups have continued in an unbroken succession. Parade participants practice the wearing of their costumes several months in advance. Despite its relatively recent origin, the Jidai-Matsuri Festival has grown to become one of Kyoto's three largest festivals.
Jidai-Matsuri Festival Route
The Jidai-Matsuri Festival is one of Kyoto's three largest festivals. Participants don the complete range of clothing worn from the 8th to the 19th centuries. In total, this giant procession stretches two kilometers around Kyoto.
Kyoto Imperial Palace → Marutamachi St. → Karasuma-Marutamachi Intersection → Karasuma St. → Karasuma-Oike Intersection → Oike St. → Kawaramachi-Oike Intersection → Kawaramachi St. → Kawaramachi-Sanjo Intersection → Sanjo St. → Sanjo-Jingumichi Intersection → Jingumichi St. → Heian-Jingu Shrine
* The procession takes 90 minutes to view from beginning to end.
* The blue areas are the best spots to view the Jidai-Matsuri Parade.
Fun Facts about the Jidai-Matsuri Festival
* In Paris
On July 25th, 1998, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Paris becoming Kyoto's sister city, the Jidai-Matsuri Festival traveled abroad for the first time, and beginning at the Arc de Triomphe, passed through such places as the Concord Plaza and the Louvre.
Roughly 400 Kyoto citizens together with 260 Japanese residents of France joined local French participants in the parade while over 200,000 spectators watched this important piece of Japanese history from the streets.
* Students
There are many heavy props used in the festival. However, it is said that if you ask a Kyoto university student to help out with the festival, one of the three biggest in Japan, over a hundred strong students will gather immediately. The Jidai-Matsuri Festival would not be possible without the cooperation of Kyoto residents.
* A Happening
One popular Jidai Matsuri anecdote goes that on the morning of the festival over a hundred complaints from pedestrians came pouring in, claiming that horses were strolling down Imadegawa Street. Horses to be used in the festival are readied in front of the Imperial Garden and sometimes, during test rides, they break free of their reigns and wander outside.
After about ten minutes, two horses found themselves several kilometers northwest of Aikokuji Temple. Fortunately, the pair was safely retrieved with no traffic accidents.
