This procession belongs to the women who gave color and life to the Heian Period for 400 years.

Most eye-catching among them is Tomoe Gozen. Despite being female, she dons armor and rides a horse. Said to have been a geisha in Kyoto’s red light district, her clients were always the subject of gossip, earning her a place as a heroine of the Jidai Festival. Tomoe Gozen was known not only for her beauty, but also her almost-masculine spirit and fighting prowess in an era of male warriors.

Also of note is Sei Shōnagon, Heian Period author of “The Pillow Book,” as well as “The Tale of Genji” author Murasaki Shikibu. Sei wears a formal 12-layer ceremonial kimono while Murasaki wears a simple dress. As women in the employ of the Imperial Palace, neither held much social standing either way, but one can only imagine the dramas that took place between these two literary rivals.