Society

Jidai Matsuri festival held in Kyoto

Oct 27 (NHK) - About 2,000 people have taken part in a parade in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto. It's one of the city's major festivals.

The Jidai Matsuri, or the Festival of the Ages, began in 1895 to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the capital moving to Kyoto.

It is considered one of the city's 3 major festivals, along with the Aoi Festival in May and the Gion Festival in July.

Participants wore costumes representing each era in Japanese history, from the Heian period which began in the late 8th century, to the Meiji era which began in the 19th century.

They walked in descending chronological order.

Among them were people dressed as historical figures.

The festival is held every year on October 22nd, but the date was changed this year to avoid conflict with Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony.

More than 60,000 people gathered along the streets leading from the Kyoto Imperial Palace to the Heian Jingu Shrine 4.5 kilometers away.

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