The Jidai Matsuri, one of Kyoto's three major festivals, was held in Kyoto City on October 22, 2025. A procession of approximately 2,000 people dressed in costumes from each era, from the Meiji Restoration to the relocation of the capital to Heian, paraded down the main street of the capital in the rain and with a cold autumn breeze blowing through.
A morning ritual was held at Heian Shrine (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City), and at 9:00 AM, two portable shrines called "Horen" carrying the spirits of the enshrined deities, Emperor Kanmu and Emperor Komei, departed for Kyoto Gyoen (Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City) as a sacred procession. A procession of costumed citizens also gathered at the Gyoen from all over the city that morning.
At noon, a period-themed procession departed from in front of the Kenreimon Gate of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, located within the Gyoen grounds, led by a procession of Meiji Restoration loyalists modeled after the Yamaguni Unit, a peasant corps that fought in the new government army during the Boshin War. They proceeded while hoisting the Brocade Flag and playing drums and flutes.
The procession stopped for two or three minutes inside the Imperial Palace, and at around 12:20 pm, it came to a temporary halt just as the front of the procession left Kyoto Gyoen's Sakaimachi Gate and turned onto Marutamachi-dori.
The Jidai Matsuri began in 1895 to celebrate the 1,100th anniversary of the capital's relocation to Heian and the founding of Heian Shrine, and this year marks its 130th anniversary. Places emphasis on passing on the traditional craft techniques cultivated in Kyoto, and the costumes and ritual implements used are faithful reproductions of those from the period, based on historical research by experts.
