Jidai Matsuri
posted October 22, 2004
The Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages) is going on now. I just came back from the parade downtown, a pageant of hundreds of people in costumes from the various eras of Kyoto’s history. Tonight is another of the year’s bigger festivals, the Kurama Hi-matsuri (Fire Festival). Can I make it to both in one day?
Wow, how did you get in so close? Are you using a special lens (I’d say telephoto, but I think that’s for wider angles)?
You can really see the detail of the woman’s juni-hitoe. So encouraging; we’re doing a project on the ancient Japanese period right up to the Heian era.
I got there over an hour early so I could stake out a spot in front of the Kyoto Imperial Palace main gate and stubbornly defended my spot against camera ojisan. Also, my camera has a 12X zoom lens(about 35-420mm range), so that helps.
This gate used to open onto the immensely wide avenue that bisected Kyoto north to south, Suzaku-oji.
We’re thinking about a trip to Kyoto around the Jidai and kurama festivals. Is it worth it? Are the other shrines closed before or on the day of the festivals?
No, nothing is closed; it doesn’t work that way. However, you had better take your vitamins if you are going to both, it’s exhausting. And do be aware that you and your posessions are going to be saturated with smoke; even your camera will smell like smoke for days. Also, make sure you do not trust the city’s tourism imformation website on the timing of the himatsuri. Last year I saw several people showing up just at the finale (as per the city’s recommendation), when almost everything was over but the big climax, and they weren’t going to get anywhere near it at that hour.
Also, it can take a long time to get out of Kurama after it’s over. Kurama is at the end of the Eizan train line, and the Eizan is like a glorified bus, just one or two cars. I live on the Eizan line, just 20 minutes from Kurama on the way back to town, but it took a full two hours waiting in line to get home that night. Definitely worth it, though. Amazing spectacle.
can you give an full article about jidai matsuri for me, please help me because this topic is my thesis in college especially about how jidai matsuri can give a representation in japanese life style foe each periode ?
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