If you are planning to travel in Japan, you have multiple season options to enjoy different nature views. You can choose the spring for cherry blossom, the autumn for maples, the winter for ski…But do you know that in different seasons you might have opportunity to participate in some featured traditional events which we call “Matsuri” in Japan?

Matsuri means traditional festivals in Japanese.  Some festivals have their roots in Chinese festivals centuries ago, but have undergone great changes as they mixed with local customs.  In Japan, festivals are usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple, though they can be secular. There is usually some featured parades organized by the neighborhoods in such Festivals. The local Kami (the spirits or phenomena that are worshiped) may be ritually installed in Mikoshi (portable Shinto shrine) and paraded through the streets.

Not only tourists but also local people enjoy these events. One can always find in the vicinity of a Matsuri booths selling souvenirs and food. They can also pray for good luck by participating in these parades.

As one of the best preserved cities in Japan, Kyoto is thought to have kept the traditional cultures well.  Here I would like to introduce you the top 3 Matsuri (traditional festivals) in Kyoto.

【Aoi Matsuri Festival】

Aoi means Hollyhock in Japanese. The festival has been called Aoi festival for the Hollyhock leaves used as decoration throughout the celebration. These leaves were believed to protect against natural disasters. It is held on May 15 every year.

According to Nihon Shoki, the second oldest book of classical Japanese history, the festival originated during the reign of Emperor Kinmei (CE 539 - 571). There were most likely natural disasters occurring.  After the Emperor made offerings to the gods, the disasters subsided. In the 9th century,  the beginning of the Heian period, Emperor Kanmu recognized the deities of the Kamo shrines as protectors of the Heian capital, and established the Aoi Matsuri as an annual imperial event.

Aoi festival may also be referred to as the Kamo Festival. Because it is a festival of the two Kamo shrines in the north of the city, Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine.   More than 500 people dressed in the aristocratic style of the Heian Period (794-1185) walk from the Kyoto Imperial Palace to the Kamo Shrines.

【Gion Matsuri Festival】

Gion Matsuri Festival originated as part of a purification ritual to appease the gods thought to cause fire, floods and earthquakes. It takes its name from Kyoto's Gion district. It can be dated back to the late 6th century. By the Kamakura period (1185 - 1333), it had become a way for craft merchants’ families to show off their wealth and goods. 

Now it goes for the entire month of July and is crowned by a parade, the Yamaboko Junkō on July 17 and July 24.  The floats in the Yoiyama Parade are divided into two groups, Hoko and Yama, and are collectively called Yamaboko (or Yamahoko). All the floats are decorated with beautiful tapestries and lanterns. There are traditional musicians and artists sitting in the floats and traditional Japanese instruments being played.  Kyoto's downtown area is reserved for pedestrian traffic over three nights leading up to the massive parade. The streets are lined with night stalls selling traditional Japanese food.  Girls dressed in summer kimono walk around the area, carrying with them traditional purses and paper fans.

【Jidai Matsuri Festival】

The Jidai Matsuri ("Festival of the Ages") is another traditional Japanese festival held annually at the Heian Jingu Shrine on October 22 in Kyoto, Japan. The highlight of the festival is the Jidai Gyoretsu (Historic Pageant): a Mikoshi (a portable shrine) and more than 2,000 people dressed in costumes representing various eras of Kyoto’s 1,200-year history parade through the city.

The Jidai Matsuri begins in early morning with the Mikoshi carried out of the Kyoto Imperial, accompanied by a costumed military band that plays ancient imperial court music. The two-kilometer costume procession begins in the afternoon, with approximately 2,000 performers dressed as Samurai, military figures, and common people, from the earliest eras to the Meiji Era. The procession ends at the Heian Shrine.

This is a fine opportunity for taking a close look at the costumes, accessories and fittings which are reproduced with the quintessence of Kyoto’s traditional handicraft techniques.