A festival held at the Heian Jingu Shrine, the Jidai Matsuri is one of the three largest festivals of Kyoto together with the Aoi Matsuri – Hollyhock Festival (May 15th) and the Gion Matsuri (July 1st – 31st). The highlight of the festival is the Jidai Gyoretsu (Historic Pageant): a mikoshi (a portable shrine) and a suite of some 2,000 people dressed in costumes representing various eras of Kyoto’s 1,200-year history parade through the city. At noon, the procession departs from Kyoto Gosho (Kyoto Imperial Palace), and parades over a total distance of 4.6 kilometers as far as its destination, namely the Heian Jingu Shrine, arriving there around 2:30 in the afternoon. The line of the parading people stretches over a long distance and it takes more than one whole hour for the entire procession to pass one spot. This is a fine opportunity for taking a close look at the costumes, accessories and fittings which are reproduced with the ...more