Jidai Festival in Kyoto celebrates Japanese historical figures

A parade of elegantly dressed people depart from Heian Jingu shrine in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, on Monday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

People paraded in the central part of Kyoto dressed in costumes of the Heian period (8th-12th centuries) during the Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages) -- one of the three largest festivals in Kyoto -- which was held on Monday.

The event was held for the first time in two years, as it was canceled last year due to a typhoon. Two portable shrines -- koshi -- departed at 9 a.m. on the day from Heian Jingu shrine in Sakyo Ward to the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Kamigyo Ward. The koshi are named Horen, in which the spirits of two historical emperors -- Kanmu and Komei -- are enshrined.

In the afternoon, about 2,000 people also paraded along Miyakooji avenue, with some of them dressed as Murasaki Shikibu, a female writer in the Heian period; Oda Nobunaga, a warlord from the 16th century; and Sakamoto Ryoma, a historical figure in the last days of the Edo period (1603-1867).

A parade of elegantly dressed people depart from Kyoto Imperial Palace in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, on Monday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

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