- Jidai Matsuri
The Nihongo|Jidai Matsuri|時代祭|extra2="Festival of Eras" is held annually in
Kyoto ,Japan onOctober 22 . The festival commemorates the transfer of the capital to Kyoto in794 , the 1,100 years that it remained the capital(until it was moved to Tokyo in 1868), and the finishing of the Heian Jingu Shrine where the procession ends. It was first held in1895 .The Jidai Matsuri is one of Kyoto's renowned three great festivals, with the other two being the "
Aoi Matsuri ", held annually onMay 15 , and the "Gion Matsuri ", which is held annually from 17 toJuly 24 .It begins with the
mikoshi (portable shrines) of the first and last Kyoto emperors being carried to the Old Imperial Palace, whereafter a procession of approximately 2,000 then embarks on a five hour, 2 km route to the Heian Shrine, led by drums and fife bands. The participants in the procession wear period costumes representing styles during the time Kyoto was the capital, beginning with the modernized soldiers of theMeiji era , corresponding with the end of the Kyoto capital in 1868, back to the founding of the capital with characters from theHeian period .External links
* [http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/traditionalevents/a58_fes_jidai.html JNTO's article of Festival of Ages]
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