Ahead of the Jidai Festival, one of Kyoto's three major festivals, newly made costumes were unveiled at Heian Shrine in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City on October 11, 2023. The light pink hitoe worn by the purple shikibu of the Heian-era women's procession has been completely redesigned for the first time in 17 years, adding a touch of glamor to the procession.
The newly made Hitoshi of Murasaki Shikibu is part of the Kochigi, which is an abbreviated form of Juunihitoe. This costume is made of silk fabric worn on the inside and has a traditional diamond pattern. The orange long bakama was also repaired.
Also on display were the armor worn by samurai generals during the Nanbokucho era's Nanbokucho period, led by Kusunoki Masashige, and the costumes of samurai archers used during the Jonan Yabusame horse parade. The samurai general's armor, which will be newly installed for the first time in 91 years, is a ''doumaru'' that covers his entire torso, his chest is white, and the rest of the body is decorated with yellow-green thread. On the other hand, the samurai archers in hunting costumes had new costumes called ''suikan'' and hakama. Available in two colors: bright orange and blue.
Including these, 175 items were rebuilt or repaired at a cost of approximately 8.6 million yen.
Keiji Yamada, president of Heian Kosha, which organizes the Jidai Festival, said, ''This year, we have fully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic and have made sufficient preparations.We hope a large number of people will come to see it.'' The procession will depart from Kyoto Gyoen National Garden at noon on October 22nd. This time, for the first time, the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs will join the ranks of honorary magistrates.
