Latest news with #Saio-Dai
The Mainichi
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
In Photos: Kyoto's Aoi Matsuri festival showcases Japanese courtly history
Image 1 of 15 Aya Yamauchi, this year's "Saio-Dai" festival heroine, is seen on a palanquin as the procession parades through a forest at Shimogamo Jinja shrine in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward on May 15, 2025, as part of the Aoi Matsuri festival. (Mainichi/Ririko Maeda)
The Mainichi
16-05-2025
- Climate
- The Mainichi
Ancient aristocrat procession at Kyoto festival captivates 30,000 spectators
KYOTO -- More than 30,000 spectators were treated to an ancient Japanese imperial procession, a highlight of Kyoto's Aoi Matsuri festival, May 15 as some 500 people clad in aristocratic costumes paraded through central Kyoto. The annual early summer festival organized by Shimogamo Jinja shrine in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward and Kamigamo Jinja shrine in the city's Kita Ward is said to have started in the sixth century. As part of the May 15 "Roto-no-gi" parade, a reenactment of a Heian period (794-1185) imperial procession, participants including this year's "Saio-Dai" festival heroine Aya Yamauchi, a graduate student at Tokyo University of the Arts and a native of Kyoto's Sakyo Ward, departed the Kyoto Imperial Palace and marched for some 8 kilometers to Kamigamo Jinja via Shimogamo Jinja. Approximately 33,000 spectators (reported by Kyoto Prefectural Police) viewed the spectacle despite the early summer heat as the city's temperature hit a high of 26.7 degrees Celsius that day, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. (Japanese original by Yuki Ohigashi and Saki Hidaka, Kyoto Bureau)
The Mainichi
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Horseback archery ritual held to pray for safety of iconic Kyoto festival
KYOTO -- A "yabusame," or horseback archery, ritual was held at a Shinto shrine in this ancient Japanese capital to pray for the safety of the famed Aoi Matsuri, one of Kyoto's three major festivals. The thrilling May 3 event captivated a large crowd of spectators who gathered in the verdant Tadasu no Mori forest on the Shimogamo Shrine grounds in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward. The ritual marks the beginning of the Aoi Matsuri and is dedicated to praying for peace. According to Shimogamo Shrine, while "yabusame" is known as a samurai event, it originally derived from an event for court nobles, which is why horseback archery is conducted in both court and samurai attire. Approximately 1,500 seats were prepared on May 3, and the shrine reported that around 20,000 people gathered. Twenty archers on horseback dashed through a roughly 400-meter-long course, with three targets set at 100-meter intervals. Each clanging sound that accompanied a successful hit elicited loud cheers from the audience. The Aoi Matsuri will culminate on May 15 with the "Roto-no-gi" procession through the city, featuring the festival's heroine called "Saio-Dai" and others in splendid period attire. (Japanese original by Saki Hidaka, Kyoto Bureau; video by Hiroyuki Ota, Kyoto Bureau)
The Mainichi
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Kyoto Aoi Matsuri's heroine undergoes purification ritual ahead of festival
KYOTO -- The Aoi Matsuri festival's heroine "Saio-Dai" underwent a purification ritual on May 4 at Kamigamo Jinja shrine in Kyoto's Kita Ward as the fine weather attracted many families and tourists to the sightseeing spot amid Japan's Golden Week holiday period. This year, Aya Yamauchi, a second-year graduate student at Tokyo University of the Arts, and a native of Kyoto's Sakyo Ward, serves as the 67th Saio-Dai. The 25-year-old entered the shrine grounds on May 4 clad in a "junihitoe" 12-layered ceremonial kimono. She was accompanied by a procession of about 50 women, including "warawame" (young girls) and "uneme" (court ladies), all dressed in vibrant traditional attire. Amid the sounds of ancient court music, she purified herself by dipping her fingertips into the Mitarashi River, then blew onto a wooden human-shaped doll and set it afloat in the clear stream to cleanse away any impurities. Yamauchi said, "The 'junihitoe' dress carried a lot of weight. I feel solemn." The Aoi Matsuri, one of Kyoto's three major festivals, is an annual celebration jointly held by Kamigamo Jinja shrine and Shimogamo Shrine, featuring a procession of participants dressed in Heian-period (794-1185) court attire, starting from the Kyoto Imperial Palace and visiting both shrines. The festival will be held May 15. (Japanese original by Yuki Ohigashi, Kyoto Bureau)
