Uploaded October 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A countryside tradition that highlights customs of the more rural areas of Japan, Matsu-age festivals are held in three outlying villages in Kyoto during the month of August. This year the Kyoto Fan team headed to a village about an hour north of Kyoto called Hirogawara to take part in their Matsu-age, which has been carefully preserved by the local people for centuries as a ritual to commemorate local fire deity Atago Daimyojin and pray for good crops and the health of the villagers.
Held annually on August 24th, Hirogawara's Matsu-age begins around 8:30 at night. In order to hold the festival a log of Japanese cedar is used to construct a tall pillar about 20m high with a large bundle of kindling on the top. Over the course of the festival the local men hurl flaming torches up at this pillar trying to light it on fire, bring it crashing to the ground, and then stoke the remaining flames until they finally die out in the darkness. Returning back to your modern lives after this timeless celebration from rural Japan will be a challenge!
For details and more on this event, check out our website:
discoverkyoto.com/event-calendar/august/matsu-age-torch-lightings
A countryside tradition that highlights customs of the more rural areas of Japan, Matsu-age festivals are held in three outlying villages in Kyoto during the month of August. This year the Kyoto Fan team headed to a village about an hour north of Kyoto called Hirogawara to take part in their Matsu-age, which has been carefully preserved by the local people for centuries as a ritual to commemorate local fire deity Atago Daimyojin and pray for good crops and the health of the villagers.
Held annually on August 24th, Hirogawara's Matsu-age begins around 8:30 at night. In order to hold the festival a log of Japanese cedar is used to construct a tall pillar about 20m high with a large bundle of kindling on the top. Over the course of the festival the local men hurl flaming torches up at this pillar trying to light it on fire, bring it crashing to the ground, and then stoke the remaining flames until they finally die out in the darkness. Returning back to your modern lives after this timeless celebration from rural Japan will be a challenge!
For details and more on this event, check out our website:
discoverkyoto.com/event-calendar/august/matsu-age-torch-lightings
![Kyoto Festival: Jidai Matsuri [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MI1jNveFN-w/mqdefault.jpg "Kyoto Festival: Jidai Matsuri [4K]
For more information, check out the Jidai Matsuri page on our website:
https://www.discoverkyoto.com/event-calendar/october/jidai-matsuri
Considered to be one of the top three festivals in all of Kyoto despite its status as a relatively new tradition, Heian Shrines Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages) is held on October 22nd from noon each year.
The festival is primarily composed of a two kilometer, five hour long procession of countless volunteers dressed in historical garb representing Japanese cultural history from the Meiji era all the way back to the Enryaku era in the 780’s. Painstakingly recreated and researched, going so far as to even make and dye the fabric using the same techniques as they used a thousand years ago, the procession is akin to watching a living history museum march by. Not only do famous historical figures and princesses make appearance, but warriors, priests, politicians, merchants, and commoners are all represented. With that many characters, the Jidai Matsuri gives a very comprehensive look in to the clothing and appearance of Japanese past.
00:18 - Meiji Imperial Army Drum & Fife Corps
00:52 - Patriots of the Meiji Restoration
02:33 - Edo Period Procession of Shogunal Deputies
03:25 - Women of the Edo Period
04:38 - Toyotomi Hideyoris Procession
05:15 - Oda Nobubagas Entry into Kyoto
06:40 - Muromachi Shogunate Procession
07:07 - Muromachi Customs & Daily Life
07:35 - Kusunoki Masashiges Entrance into Kyoto
08:12 - Ladies from the Middle Ages
09:05 - Yabusame Archers from the Kamakura Period
09:35 - Fujiwara Courtiers Procession to Court
10:04 - Ladies from the Heian Period
11:31 - Sakanoue Tamuramoros Victorious Return
11:59 - Procession of 8th Century Court Nobles
12:13 - Offerings to the Deities
12:30 - Portable Shrine Procession
13:40 - Shirakawa-me & a Company of Archers")
![Beautiful Kyoto: Snow Day in Mt. Takao [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NUrhMyYAMsU/mqdefault.jpg "Beautiful Kyoto: Snow Day in Mt. Takao [4K]
Though you have surely seen breathtaking photos of snow-covered Kyoto, a decent snowfall that sticks around is sadly quite rare here in the ancient capital. So when the Discover Kyoto team woke to snow this January, we packed our bags and headed out bright and early to nearby Mt. Takao. Home to three historical temples and overflowing with natural beauty, Mt. Takao is famous for its fall colors… but don’t count this mountain out just because it’s winter! Whether it’s the gorgeous view of icy branches from Kōzan-ji’s hall, the striking scarlet of Saimyō’s bridge, or the snow-covered roofs of Jingo-ji, Mt. Takao is the perfect place to escape the crowds in the city center to enjoy the snow in quiet contemplation as if you were a monk of old.")
![Kyoto Festival: Spring Ogre Purification (Oni Yarai Shinji) [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S2rP3lPs7XE/mqdefault.jpg "Kyoto Festival: Spring Ogre Purification (Oni Yarai Shinji) [4K]
Setsubun marks the day before spring with various traditions meant to drive away evil spirits/bad luck and cleanse the home and family for the coming year. Shrines and temples around Japan hold special festivals for the public to come together and participate as a community, and several of these festivals are quite famous. One place you can go to take part in Setsubun is Iwashimizu Hachimangū on Mt. Otokoyama in Yawata City just south of Kyoto.
Though Setsubun festivals are commonly held on February 3rd no matter what day of the week the date falls on, Iwashimizu Hachimangū holds their Oni Yarai Shinji (Ogre Banishing Ritual) on the Sunday before in order to allow people of all ages to attend more easily. Held twice on the day at 1pm and then again at 2pm, the Oni Yarai Shinji consists of three main parts: Shinto purification rituals, an attack on the shrine by oni (ogres), and the distribution of fukumame (lucky beans). A procession of shrine priests, priestesses, and related guests make their way to the stage in front of the main sanctuary, where the head priest performs various purification rituals. After using a peach branch bow to symbolically fire arrows in the cardinal direction and this years lucky direction, as well as a purification with a sword made of peach tree branch, four oni, two green and two red, make an appearance. Growling and intimidating the crowds along the way, the oni make a comic assault on the shrine stage only to be dramatically beaten back by beans thrown at them along with shouts of oni yarō (drive out the ogres!). Once the oni make their retreat, the crowds gather with hands reaching out high in the hopes of catching the packets of lucky beans that are then thrown their way.
In addition to the two Oni Yarai Shinji rituals, packets of fukumame and arrows blessed by miko priestesses performing kagura dances can be purchased throughout the day.")
![Kyoto Event: Beautiful Poetry Gathering at Kamigamo Shrine (Kamo Kyokusui no En) [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SITk6LVYl0Q/mqdefault.jpg "Kyoto Event: Beautiful Poetry Gathering at Kamigamo Shrine (Kamo Kyokusui no En) [4K]
In the style of lavish poetry parties held during the Heian period, Kamigamo Shrine is host to the Kamo Kyokusui no En each year at 13:00 on the second Sunday in April. Based on a particular event from the shrines history, hosted by Priest Shigeyasu in 1182, the Kamo Kyokusui no En is held in a winding stream garden in the shrines southeast grounds, the vibrant spring moss and shrine hall decorated with crimson umbrellas and sprigs of flowers. These days, the event is presided over by the Saiō-dai, a woman representing unmarried imperial princesses who historically served as honorary shrine priestesses. Five poets, four from the Reizei-ke Shigure-tei Bunko organization and one selected by contest submission, arrange themselves along the stream and receive the poetry theme, 2016s being hana wo matsu, (waiting on flowers). As young children guide small boats of sake through the water the poets compose poems and enjoy a drink. The final poems the poets select are later read aloud in chorus in the shrine hall, dedicated to the kami deities.
To see more of Kamigamo Shrine and how to get there, check out our page:
https://www.discoverkyoto.com/places-go/kamigamo-jinja/")
