Many warriors converged upon Kyoto during the Bakumatsu Period - the final days of the Tokugawa Regime. But who among them were seen as the heroes of the Meiji revolution?

Katsura Kogorō. Saigō Takamori. Sakamoto Ryōma. The protagonists of the Meiji Restoration enter the stage through this procession. The Shinsengumi, long arm of the Shogunate’s law and enemies of the revolution, are nowhere to be seen. Only those deemed faithful to the cause appear in the Jidai Festival, as the event represents the Meiji Restoration.

Each member of the procession has a story. Take, for instance, Sanjō Sanetomi and the six court nobles. Though they were ostensibly of high standing, here they appear as broken men clad in straw-hats. This is because the procession recreates the scene of their downfall in Kyoto and their escape to Chōshū. This explains the seven nobles’ deep connection to the fiefdom of Chōshū, and how they were made the forefront of the Meiji Restoration’s slogan: “Revere the Emperor; Expel the Barbarians.” However, the powerful Satsuma Domain, fighting for the Shogunate, originally chased them out of Kyoto, thus entwining the fates of Chōshū and Satsuma. Sakamoto Ryoma would later guide the regions into a new alliance – the Satchō Alliance – and their power would affect the Meiji Restoration.