The Aoi Festival in Kyoto

By May 19, 2016 at 9:11 am

They say the world's most famous "3 Big Rivers" are the Amazon, Nile and Mississippi. Here in Kyoto, Japan, we celebrate "3 Big Festivals in May, June and October - Aoi, Gion and Jidai, in that order.

Today, May 15, the Kyotoans went out to mount the first of the three festivals "Aoi Festival" or hollyhook festival, carrying a hollyhock float from the Kyoto Imperial Palace via the Shimogamo Shrine to the Kamigbamo Shrine.

The procession comprises the imperial messenger, two oxcarts, four cows, thirty-six horses, and six hundred people - all clad in traditonal Heian period apparel decorated with hollyhock leaves.

The festioval features this procession and some rituals at both shrines at its arrival. It's gorgeous and well worth for foreign tourists to watch.

It is believed the hollyhook leaves used to decorate throughout the festival protect against natural disasters.

The festival dates back to the Heian Period (794-1185) when the reigning Emperor Kammu initiated the festival to pay tribute to the dieties of both shrines whom he recognized as protectors of his newly opened capital Heian.

The heroine of the festival, the Saiō-Dai, was performed this year by a 26-year-old Kawa Moshimura.

The procession gracefully proceeded and, as the Saiō-Dai passed by, the spectators along the road cheered aloud taking pictures of a live picture scroll in motion. A woman from Okayama who came to hooray her son-in-law commented in excitement:

"What a colorful procession! My son-in-law was out there in that procession."

The festival climaxed in mid Heian Period but gradually waned toward the Kamakura Period and once disappeared as the whole nation plunged into the evenful years in the Sengoku Period or the Age of Warring States.

From then on till this day, the festival has had ups and downs, the capital moving from Kyoto to Tokyo, orld War II, etc., and it was in 1958 that the Aoi Festival revived in its entirety.

Come July, Tokyo will celebrated the Gion Festival - the biggest of the three. Until then, have great days. This is Nathan Shiga.

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