Posted October 22, 2019
This traditional Japanese festival celebrates the anniversary of the founding of Kyoto.
The Japanese name for the celebration, Jidai Matsuri, means "Festival of Ages" - and because of this, the parade features historical costumes from pretty much every period of Japanese history and also people dressed as famous historical figures.
One of the not-so-fun things about watching a popular parade in person is that you often have to stake out your curbside position along the parade route for hours and hours, but then the parade goes by in just ten to thirty minutes. Well, the Jidai Matsuri parade has around 2,000 participants, and it takes about two hours to watch the entire parade pass by!!!
The participants in the parade have to walk for FIVE hours!
Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan, and the Imperial Palace was located there; the capital moved to Tokyo in 1868, and a new Imperial Palace was built there.
The leaders of Kyoto wanted to make sure that everyone remembered Kyoto's importance in history and decided to celebrate the 1,100th anniversary of its founding (waaaaaaayyyy back in 794). They ordered a new shrine to be put up to honor the emperor who founded Kyoto, Kanmu, and the historical parade organized for the first Festival of Ages, in 1895, traveled from the Imperial Palace to the new shrine.
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| Above, Kyoto's Imperial Palace. Two below, the torii gate associated with the Heian Shrine, and the shrine itself. |
Even though Jidai Matsuri is always held on October 22, this year (2019) it will be held on Saturday, October 26. Are you inspired to try to catch a flight and see the spectacle??
(Third full Monday-Sunday week in October)
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