Kyoto Revives Heian Splendor

May 16, 2026 | News On Japan

KYOTO - A graceful procession made its way through the streets of Kyoto on May 16th as the "Roto no Gi," the main highlight of the Aoi Festival, got underway in Kyoto City.

More than 500 participants dressed in Heian-period attire departed from the Kyoto Imperial Palace at around 10:30 a.m., parading slowly through the city in one of Japan’s most famous traditional festivals.

The Aoi Festival is believed to have originated around 1,400 years ago, when rituals were held at Kamigamo Shrine to pray for abundant harvests.

The festival’s heroine, known as the "Saio-dai," wore an elaborate twelve-layered kimono and traveled through the capital aboard a carriage called the "Oyoyo," moving at a stately pace along Kyoto’s main avenues.

Source: Kyodo

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