The Jidai Matsuri on October 22 is one of the “Three Big Festivals” of Kyoto, and celebrates the history of Kyoto with a parade of reenactors in costume, on horses, atop wagons, and with all manner of attendants and accoutrements. They depart the old Imperial Palace (called Kyoto Gosho) at noon, but it takes more than an hour for all the participants to stream out the southern gate.

The parade route covers about 5 km, reaching Heian Shrine about 2:30 p.m.

Every era of Kyoto’s long history is covered. There are of course numerous representatives of the period when Kyoto, then known as Heian, became the capital of Japan in the reign of emperor Kammu in 694. Watching the parade is like watching a living history museum, as the costumes are authentic, and participants do their best to act in the manner of their roles. The other two main festival of Kyoto are the Aoi (Hollyhock) Festival in May and the Gion Matsuri in July.

Archers, samurai, shinsengumi, courtesans and court ladies, bearers, peasants and nobility; the variety of roles in great.

The Jidai Matsuri parade was first held in 1895, as a morale booster of sorts, after the capital of Japan was officially moved to Tokyo in the Meiji Restoration of 1867. The city built the huge Heian Shrine, modeled after the long lost original Kyoto Imperial Palace of the Heian Period, and dedicated it to Kammu.

In the morning there is a display of mikoshi portable shrines at Gosho.

On the same day as the Jidai Matsuri, the Kurama Hi-Matsuri is held in the mountains north of Kyoto beginning at 6 p.m. Tis is not easy to attend, but for those who can bear it, it is an unforgettable experience.