A Living Historical Picture Scroll

The Jidai Festival of Heian Jingu Shrine is one of Kyoto’s “Three Great Festivals.” All of Kyoto comes together for this event every year on October 22nd; its 2,000-person procession winds the clock back through history, displaying every period from the Meiji Restoration to the Heian Era. This also means that Kyoto’s greatest traditional craftsmen put together the costumes that make the magnificent sight come alive, like a breathing historical tapestry. Just what kinds of stories can we uncover from them? Let us unfurl the living picture scroll, and begin with the origin of the Heian Jingu Shrine and the Jidai Festival.