葵祭 Aoi Matsuri

Background

The Aoi Matsuri, formally the Kamo Matsuri, is the annual festival of Shimogamo and Kamigamo Shrines, held every May 15 (the procession moves to the 16th in rain). Served by the Emperor's imperial messenger, it is one of the three imperial chokusai festivals alongside Kasuga and Iwashimizu, and one of Kyoto's three great festivals. It began about 1,500 years ago: in 544, when crop failure and plague struck the region, people took it as the wrath of the Kamo deities and held rites with galloping horses to appease them. The name 'Aoi' (hollyhock) comes from decorating everything — the imperial messenger, attendants' court dress, even the oxen and horses — with hollyhock leaves; in ancient times, saying 'the Festival' simply meant the Kamo Matsuri.

What to see

• The procession recreates a Heian court ritual: the main imperial division led by the Konoe-shi-dai (the Emperor's deputy) in black court dress on a decorated horse, plus the women's division led by the Saio-dai in twelve-layered juni-hitoe robes riding the sacred palanquin.
• About 500 participants form a column roughly 1 km long, covering an 8 km route from the Imperial Palace via Shimogamo Shrine to Kamigamo Shrine.
• The Saio-dai — once an unmarried imperial princess, today a Kyoto woman chosen as her stand-in — is the symbolic figure of the festival.
• Both shrines hold the Shato-no-gi rite, where the imperial messenger offers sacred staffs and recites the festival prayer amid ancient dance and music; at Shimogamo, the Soma horse-racing rite follows in the Tadasu-no-mori forest.
• Preliminary rites are also open to the public with no application needed: the Yabusame mounted archery on May 3 and the Saio-dai purification rite on May 4.

Timeline

10:30

Roto-no-gi begins: the procession leaves the Kyoto Imperial Palace

11:00頃

Passes Marutamachi-dori (near Kawaramachi-Marutamachi) (expected time for the head of the column; same below)

11:15頃

Passes near Demachiyanagi Station (Imadegawa-dori)

11:40頃

Arrives at Shimogamo Shrine; Shato-no-gi rite is held (the imperial messenger offers sacred staffs and recites the festival prayer), followed by the Soma horse-racing rite on the Baba riding ground in Tadasu-no-mori

14:20頃

The procession departs Shimogamo Shrine again

14:40頃

Passes near Rakuhoku High School

14:55頃

Passes Kitaoji-dori

15:30頃

Arrives at Kamigamo Shrine; Shato-no-gi rite is held, followed by the Soma horse-racing rite

How to watch

• The procession can be watched for free from the pavement along the route (outside the paid seating areas).
• To watch the procession inside Shimogamo Shrine grounds, an application to the Kyoto City Tourism Association is required (paid seats).
• Watching the Shato-no-gi rite inside Shimogamo's Romon gate requires special membership of the shrine's support association (Shimogamo Shrine, official).
• Kamigamo Shrine also sets up viewing seats along its approach and seats for the rite inside the second torii (announced on the shrine's official social media; check the year's official notice for details).
• Photography and drone flights inside Kamigamo Shrine grounds require advance permission.

Getting there

Shimogamo Shrine: 12 minutes on foot from Keihan Demachiyanagi Station; from Kyoto Station take city bus 4 or 205 to Shimogamo-jinja-mae (or Tadasu-no-mori-mae) (Shimogamo Shrine, official). Kamigamo Shrine: 25 minutes on foot from subway Karasuma Line Kitaoji or Kitayama stations; from JR Kyoto Station or Keihan Demachiyanagi Station take city bus 4 to Kamigamo-jinja-mae, right outside the shrine (Kamigamo Shrine, official).

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