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Aoi Matsuri
(Hollyhock Festival) |
15 May
Also known as the Hollyhock Festival, it starts with
a procession of about 500-600 dressed in period
costumes leaving from the Imperial Palace. It then
heads north for the Shimogamo Shrine, before ending
at the Kamigamo Shrine.
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Gion Matsuri |
May (tba)
This festival is Kyoto's most famous and colourful
celebrations, where over 30 tall wooden floats, or
hoko, paraded through the streets of downtown
Kyoto on the 17th, pulled by hundreds of volunteers
in white. The streets around Shijo Karasuma are
sealed off during this time for the procession of
floats, taking place at Kyoto's geisha town, Gion.
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Jidai Matsuri
(Festival of the Ages) |
22 October
A
festival held at the Heian Jingu Shrine, the Jidai
Matsuri is one of the three largest festivals of
Kyoto together with the Aoi Matsuri and the Gion
Matsuri. The highlight of the festival is the Jidai
Gyoretsu (Historic Pageant), where a mikoshi (a
portable shrine) and a suite of some 2,000 people
dressed in costumes representing various eras of
Kyoto's 1,200-year history parade through the city.
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