Kyoto's Three Great Festivals & the Gozan no Okuribi: When, Where, Why
You could almost say Kyoto's year turns on its festivals. The Aoi Matsuri in May, the Gion Matsuri in July, and the Jidai Matsuri in October are known as the "Three Great Festivals of Kyoto," and on summer nights the Gozan no Okuribi bonfires ring the city. Here we trace, with sources, when, where, and why each one began.
Festivals look different once you know the when, where, and why behind them. Each of the three great festivals is the annual rite of a particular shrine, yet their origins and characters could hardly be more distinct.
The Aoi Matsuri carries the elegance of the imperial court, the Gion Matsuri is a prayer to drive away plague, and the Jidai Matsuri is a historical pageant born in the modern era. The Gozan no Okuribi is not a festival at all, but a rite that sees off the spirits welcomed back at Obon.
The Three Great Festivals of Kyoto
Aoi Matsuri (Aoi Festival) Aoi Matsuri
Formally the Kamo Matsuri, this is the joint annual rite of Kamigamo-jinja (Kamo-wakeikazuchi-jinja) and Shimogamo-jinja (Kamo-mioya-jinja), in which a procession in courtly Heian dress, the "Rotō no Gi," makes its way along the great avenues of the old capital. Tradition holds that it began in the reign of Emperor Kinmei, when the Kamo deities were honored to quell crop failure and plague; the name "Aoi" comes from the hollyhock (aoi) leaves used to adorn it.
Source: 下鴨神社（賀茂御祖神社）公式 京都観光Navi（京都市公式）「葵祭」
Gion Matsuri (Gion Festival) Gion Matsuri
The festival of Yasaka-jinja, its rites unfold across the whole month of July. Its origin lies in the Gion Goryō-e of 869 (Jōgan 11), when 66 halberds — one for each of the provinces of Japan at the time — were raised in prayer to drive away an epidemic. It is famous for the lavish Yamaboko Junkō procession of floats, and the float ritual is inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Source: 八坂神社「祇園祭」 京都観光Navi（京都市公式）「祇園祭」
Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages) Jidai Matsuri
The youngest of the three great festivals, it began in 1895 (Meiji 28), the year Heian-jingū was founded to mark 1,100 years since the capital moved to Heian-kyō. October 22 is "Kyoto's birthday," the day Emperor Kanmu is said to have relocated the capital. The highlight is a procession of some 2,000 people costumed in the dress of each historical period, from the Meiji Restoration back to the Enryaku era.
Source: 平安神宮「時代祭」 京都観光Navi（京都市公式）「時代祭」
Fires That See Off the Summer Night
Gozan no Okuribi (Five-Mountain Send-Off Fires) Gozan no Okuribi
This is not a festival but a rite that sends off, once more, the ancestral spirits welcomed home at Obon. On the night of August 16, the characters and shapes of Daimonji, Myō-Hō, Funagata, Hidari Daimonji, and Toriigata are set alight one after another. Several accounts trace its origin to Kōbō Daishi, but there is no settled theory.
FAQ
When are Kyoto's three great festivals held?
Mark your calendar for May 15 (Aoi), all of July for Gion with the float procession around the 17th, and October 22 (Jidai). Severe weather can push any of them to a later day.
What's the difference between the festivals and the Gozan no Okuribi?
It comes down to who is being honored: the three festivals are Shinto rites performed for a shrine's deities, while the Gozan no Okuribi is a Buddhist-rooted Obon observance for the family dead. It answers to no shrine — the fires are lit on the night of August 16, the close of Kyoto's month-delayed Obon, to see the returning spirits off.
Which is easiest to enjoy for a first-timer?
If you want a seat and a slow look, the Aoi and Jidai processions move at a walking pace and are easy to follow. For crowds and spectacle, head for Gion's float procession. The Okuribi needs no ticket — just find an open vantage point across the city with a clear line to the mountains.
Why does Kyoto have so many big festivals?
More than a thousand years as the capital left the city with reasons to gather again and again — plague to ward off, court ceremony to keep, milestones to commemorate — and each occasion hardened into a festival that residents have carried forward ever since.