On May 4, 2024, the ''Purification Ceremony'' for Saiodai and women to purify themselves ahead of the Aoi Festival was held at Shimogamo Shrine in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City. Akiko Matsuura, 22years old, Saiodai wearing a 12hitoe robe, dipped her hands together in the Mitarashi Pond in the shrine grounds, praying for a safe Aoi Festival.
At around 10:30 a.m., when the early summer sun was shining, Saiodai appeared at the tower gate accompanied by 50 women. As gagaku music rang out, she marched in line to Mitarai Pond.
After the Shinto priest gave the oharai prayer, Saiodai went to the side of the pond and immersed his joined hands in the water. He and a woman washed the skewer on which he had carried his own filth into the Mitarai River to purify it.
Queen Akiko, the eldest daughter of the late Imperial Prince Hirohito Mikasa, was also present on this day. After watching the ceremony, she took a commemorative photo with Saiodai and others. Approximately 10,000 people worshiped, and the precincts were filled with people holding cameras to get a glimpse of the Saio dynasty and the procession of women.
The Aoi Festival will be held on May 15th. The purification ceremony began in 1956, when the Saio dynasty was established, and is held at both Kamigamo and Shimogamo shrines on a one-year rotation.
