🏮 Jidai Matsuri

時代祭

Kyoto (Heian Shrine) · Every year on 22 October

Floats

38 days to go
Rooms around Kyoto fill up while the festival is on.

The Jidai Matsuri is a major festival of Heian Shrine in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, held every year on October 22. Started in 1895 (Meiji 28) to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the transfer of the capital to Heian, the centerpiece of this festival is the 'Jidai Fuzoku Procession,' in which about 2,000 citizens dressed in costumes of various eras parade through the streets of Kyoto. Its origins date back to the commemorative festival and ceremony held on the final day of the 4th National Industrial Exposition held in Kyoto that same year. The historical costume procession of that time became the prototype for today's Jidai Matsuri. The highlight of the procession is that it looks back over about 1,000 years, from the Ishin Kinno-tai to the Enryaku era, in two hours. Not only historical figures such as Katsura Kogoro and Oda Nobunaga, but also costumes based on meticulous historical research, such as Sei Shonagon in junihitoe and Murasaki Shikibu in kouchigi, attract attention. Also depicted are the 'Muro-machi Rakuchu Fuzoku Retsu' and the common people such as 'Shirakawa-me' and 'Ohara-me,' and the procession concludes with the 'Shinko-retsu,' centered on the Gohoren carrying the divine spirits of Emperor Kanmu and Emperor Komei. Access: A course of about 2 km from Kyoto Gyoen to Heian Shrine. The nearest stations are Higashiyama Station on the Subway Tozai Line, Sanjo Station on the Keihan Line, or Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line, from which you can go by bus or on foot. May be postponed in case of rain.

Getting there

A course of about 2 km from Kyoto Gyoen to Heian Shrine. The nearest stations are Higashiyama Station on the Subway Tozai Line, Sanjo Station on the Keihan Line, or Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line, from which you can go by bus or on foot. May be postponed in case of rain.