{"id":398,"date":"2025-10-14T16:19:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T07:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/?post_type=article&p=398"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:39:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:39:34","slug":"the-dazzling-edo-period-womens-procession-the-flower-of-the-jidai-matsuri-a-festival-made-by-kyoto-citizens","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/articles\/the-dazzling-edo-period-womens-procession-the-flower-of-the-jidai-matsuri-a-festival-made-by-kyoto-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"The dazzling Edo-period women\u2019s procession"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Jidai Matsuri, one of Kyoto\u2019s three major festivals, is held every year on October 22.
Unlike the Gion Festival, the Aoi Festival, or the Gozan no Okuribi, the festival is operated by the Heian Kosha, an organization formed by Kyoto citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the processions, the Edo-period women\u2019s procession, in which women wear resplendent and luxurious costumes, is the flower of the Jidai Matsuri.
In this festival made by Kyoto citizens, the group in charge of the Edo-period women\u2019s procession is the Kyoto City Regional Women\u2019s Federation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, a child of an active MK Taxi driver will also appear in the role of Gyokuran, so we asked them for an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Jidai Matsuri<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Jidai Matsuri, begun with hopes for Kyoto\u2019s revival<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jidai Matsuri began in 1895.
Compared with the Gion Festival and the Aoi Festival\u2014both of which, among Kyoto\u2019s three great festivals, have histories of several centuries or even over a thousand years\u2014it is a festival with a relatively short history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jidai Matsuri started as an event to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of the transfer of the capital to Heian and the founding of Heian Shrine.
The 1100th-anniversary celebration of the Heian relocation was planned as a catalyst to revive the city of Kyoto, which had declined after the capital was moved to Tokyo.
That it was not held in 1894\u2014exactly 1100 years later\u2014was due to the impact of the First Sino-Japanese War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the Fourth National Industrial Exhibition, the marquee event of the 1100th Anniversary of the Transfer of the Capital to Heian, a reconstruction of the Ch\u014dd\u014d-in from the time of the capital transfer was built on the exhibition grounds.
Using this reconstructed building as its shrine structures, Heian Shrine was founded in the same year.
Unlike ordinary shrines, Heian Shrine was established as the tutelary deity for all Kyoto citizens and as the overall guardian of Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first Jidai Matsuri was held on October 25, but beginning with the second it came to be held, as a rite of Heian Shrine, on October 22\u2014the day when Emperor Kanmu moved from Nagaoka-ky\u014d to Heian-ky\u014d.
In other words, it is a festival held on Kyoto\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Jidai Matsuri Made by the Citizens of Kyoto<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jidai Matsuri, a festival for all citizens of Kyoto, is created by the citizens themselves.
By contrast, those directly involved with the Gion Festival\u2014also counted among Kyoto\u2019s three great festivals\u2014are the residents along Shij\u014d-d\u014dri and in the Gion district. The Aoi Festival is likewise centered on the residents of Kamigamo and Shimogamo.
Whereas these are festivals of quite limited areas even within Kyoto, the Jidai Matsuri is a festival for the entire city of Kyoto.
Heian Shrine serves as the tutelary shrine for all Kyoto citizens.
Although its history is comparatively short, this is a major feature that distinguishes the Jidai Matsuri from the Gion and Aoi Festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first Jidai Matsuri consisted of six processions: the Enryaku Civil Officials\u2019 Attendance at Court, the Enryaku Military Officers\u2019 March, the Fujiwara Court Nobles\u2019 Attendance at Court, the J\u014dnan Yabusame (horseback archery) Procession, Lord Oda\u2019s Entry into the Capital, and the Tokugawa Castle Envoys\u2019 Entry into the Capital.
In 1921 the Restoration Loyalist Corps procession was added, and in 1932 the Toyok\u014d\u2019s Attendance at Court (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) and the Kusunoki Lord\u2019s Entry into the Capital (Kusunoki Masashige) were added, gradually making the festival ever more resplendent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the wartime and postwar interruption, when the festival was revived in 1950, three new sections were added: the Edo-period Women\u2019s Procession, the Medieval Women\u2019s Procession, and the Heian-period Women\u2019s Procession. In fact, it was only after the war that the women\u2019s processions\u2014now the very \u201cflower\u201d of the Jidai Festival\u2014were incorporated into it. Thereafter, the Procession of the Restoration Patriots was added in 1966, and in 2007 the Muromachi Shogunate Administrators Procession and the Muromachi Capital Customs Procession were added, bringing us to the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the fifteen sections above the Shinsen K\u014dsha Procession (offerings guild), the Vanguard, the Shink\u014d Procession, the Shirakawame Flower-Offering Procession, and the Archers\u2019 Corps, the festival now consists of twenty sections in total, with approximately 2,000 participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Jidai Festival is administered by an organization called Heian K\u014dsha, made up of Kyoto citizens. The procession sections are conducted through the voluntary service of the Heian K\u014dsha\u2019s First through Tenth Branches (which divide the city of Kyoto into ten areas), together with the Kyoto Junior Chamber, the Kyoto City Federation of Community Women\u2019s Associations, Fukakusa Muromachi Customs Procession Preservation, the \u014chara Tourism Conservation Association, the Katsura Women\u2019s Association (on a rotating basis with the Katsura East Women\u2019s Association), the geisha districts (hanamachi) of Gion K\u014dbu and Miyagawa-ch\u014d (on a rotating basis under the Kyoto Hanamachi Federation), the Kyoto Culinary Association, the Shirakawame Customs Preservation Society, and volunteers from Kameoka City and Nantan City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edo-period Women\u2019s Procession<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is the Edo-period Women\u2019s Procession?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Edo-period Women\u2019s Procession is a section featuring famous women who were active in Kyoto during the Edo period.
It proceeds fourth in the parade, following the Ishin Kinno-tai Procession, the Procession of the Restoration Patriots, and the Procession of Tokugawa Shogunate Envoys to the Imperial Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The named figures are Kazunomiya, Rengetsu, Gyokuran, the wife of Nakamura Kuranosuke, Okaji, Yoshino Day\u016b, and Izumo no Okuni (seven in total).
As with the overall order of the Jidai Festival procession, the more recent the historical era, the earlier they appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kazunomiya was the younger sister of Emperor K\u014dmei\u2014who is also enshrined as a deity at Heian Jing\u016b\u2014and is known for having been given in marriage to the 14th shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi.
It was a classic political marriage aimed at k\u014dbu gattai<\/em> (the unification of court and shogunate), yet the couple\u2019s relationship was exceptionally good. After Iemochi died young, she also played an active role as a liaison connecting the Imperial Court and the shogunate.
She is the leading figure in the Edo-period women\u2019s procession. Attended by two nyoju<\/em> (ladies-in-waiting), she is the only one to make her appearance riding on a wheeled carriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u014ctagaki Rengetsu was a Buddhist nun and poet of the Bakumatsu period.
She was also a ceramic artist, and pottery inscribed with her own waka poems\u2014known as Rengetsu-yaki\u2014was popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gyokuran was a painter, poet, and calligrapher of the mid-Edo period. Her husband was the famous literati painter Ike Taiga, and the couple were active cultural figures who produced many collaborative works. They were also known as an eccentric couple, and various anecdotes about them have been passed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The wife of Nakamura Kuranosuke was married to one of Kyoto\u2019s leading merchant magnates.
On one occasion, there was a competition comparing the attire of wealthy merchants\u2019 wives and daughters; amid a lineup of flashy outfits, following advice from Kuranosuke\u2019s friend Ogata K\u014drin, she deliberately wore a plain outfit and won great praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She makes her appearance attended by a single koshimoto<\/em> (lady-in-waiting). True to the anecdote, the koshimoto<\/em> wears a striking red, flashy outfit, while Kuranosuke\u2019s wife is dressed plainly\u2014so at first glance the attendant looks like the main figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Okaji was a poet of the mid-Edo period.
Fans on which Kaji wrote waka poems and Miyazaki Y\u016bzensai\u2014renowned for y\u016bzen dyeing\u2014painted pictures enjoyed great popularity.
Her adopted daughter\u2019s daughter was Gyokuran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yoshino Tay\u016b was a high-ranking courtesan of the early Edo period.
She was immensely popular as Kyoto\u2019s foremost celebrated beauty.
After being contested between the kampaku Konoe Nobuhiro and the wealthy merchant Haiya Sh\u014deki, she married Sh\u014deki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Izumo no Okuni was the woman who began kabuki odori<\/em>, the forerunner of today\u2019s kabuki.
She staged kabuki odori<\/em> at Shij\u014d-Kawaramachi and Kitano Tenmang\u016b, and a statue of Izumo no Okuni still stands on Shij\u014d Bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Edo-period women\u2019s procession was once staffed by geiko and maiko from the flower districts, but since 2000 it has been staffed by the Kyoto City Regional Women\u2019s Federation.
The Federation is an organization established in 1948 to promote women\u2019s independence and social participation.
Even today it carries out a wide range of activities, and as part of promoting cultural activities, it participates in the Edo-period women\u2019s procession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Participants in the Edo-period women\u2019s procession are selected through women\u2019s associations organized by school districts within Kyoto City.
To avoid overrepresentation by any ward, balance is maintained, and roles are assigned with age in mind.
For example, Kazunomiya must be in her teens, while other roles are limited to age 27 or under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MK Taxi handles transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants in the Edo-period women\u2019s procession assemble at Heian Jing\u016b early in the morning.
They have their hair done and are dressed at Heian Jing\u016b\u2019s wedding hall, and once preparations are complete, they head to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s MK Taxi that handles this transport.
Two jumbo taxis make two round trips to help move everyone from Heian Jing\u016b to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
The moment they get out, numerous photographers gather, and a photo session begins in no time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2022, the first round trip arrived at 11:09, and the second at 11:41.
The other attendants change into their costumes at Heian Jing\u016b and proceed on foot to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interview with the Performer of \u201cGyokuran\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the 2022 Jidai Matsuri, the role of Gyokuran in the Edo-period women\u2019s procession was performed by Ms. Haruyo Noda, a resident of Kita Ward, Kyoto City.
Ms. Noda is the daughter of Mr. Mitsuharu Noda, an employee of MK Taxi working as a driver at the Fushimi Office.
After moving to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, we conducted an interview during the time before the festival began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How she came to take on the role of Gyokuran<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy grandmother was an officer in our school district\u2019s women\u2019s association, and the Kyoto City Regional Women\u2019s Federation contacted us asking whether I would like to appear in the Jidai Matsuri\u2014that was the starting point.
I had never taken part in a festival before, let alone the Jidai Matsuri, but I wanted to try it and gladly accepted.
I was born and raised in Kyoto, and perhaps because of my father\u2019s influence, I\u2019ve liked history and Kyoto culture since I was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What was your friends\u2019 reaction?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I told my friends I was appearing in the Jidai Matsuri, they were all surprised. The response has been huge.
Given that, they said they definitely wanted to come see it, and many of my friends are here watching today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About the role of Gyokuran<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince I was going to appear as Gyokuran, I researched her in various ways.
I came to understand very well that she was a truly distinguished cultural figure who lived with a strong sense of self.
It\u2019s by chance, but I\u2019m very happy to be allowed to play the role of Gyokuran.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope to lead a wonderful life like Gyokuran from here on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Costume and hairdressing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a little worried about whether I can make it all the way to Heian Jing\u016b walking in an unfamiliar kimono.
This hairstyle was done by dressing my own natural hair.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis morning we assembled at Heian Jing\u016b at 6:00, and it took a full two hours to have my hair done from 7:00 to 9:00.
Because of the hair styling and makeup, I was surprised by the restrictions: when washing my hair the day before I was allowed to use only shampoo, and for skincare only toner.
I\u2019ll probably never have an experience like this again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Feelings just before departure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m truly filled with a sense of honor.
It\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime memory.
I\u2019m currently a fourth-year student, and I\u2019m set to move to Tokyo for a job starting next year.
I\u2019m happy to be able to take on a role like this at the very end of my remaining time living in Kyoto.
I will carry out my role properly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About my father<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince I was a child, he took me all over Kyoto.
Thanks to that, I grew up as a kid who loves history and loves Kyoto.
I\u2019m nothing but grateful for the wonderful way he has raised me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(Added October 25) After the Jidai Matsuri, we received additional comments from Ms. Haruyo Noda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impressions after completing the Jidai Matsuri<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had never experienced this kind of hairstyle before, the white makeup, or such a gorgeous kimono, so my feelings were a mix of excitement and anxiety about walking in front of a large crowd.
I was nervous from start to finish, but I\u2019m relieved that I was able to carry out my role safely to the end.
This will undoubtedly remain one of the precious memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reactions from friends who came to watch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy friends who came to see the Jidai Matsuri told me, \u2018Great job\u2014you looked so beautiful.\u2019
I was simply filled with happiness.
I also had friends who spread the word to those who couldn\u2019t make it that I took part in the Jidai Matsuri, which warmed my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to Everyone Involved<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before the day of the Jidai Matsuri, the participants gathered twice for meetings.
Many people attended these meetings, and I was once again reminded that the Jidai Matsuri is created through the time and efforts of many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who gave me the opportunity to take part in the Jidai Matsuri this time, and to all those involved in running the festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Closing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Jidai Matsuri, one of Kyoto\u2019s three major festivals, is not only a festival that attracts tourists from all over the country but also a festival for all citizens of Kyoto.
MK Taxi, which is based in Kyoto, also has various ties to the event, such as being used by those involved and by participants.
For individual employees who are Kyoto citizens, it is often the case that not only they themselves but also their family members, relatives, and friends have some kind of connection to it.
In particular, in 2022, by chance an employee\u2019s daughter was selected as a participant in the Edo-period Ladies\u2019 Procession, serving in the role of Gyokuran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although its history is still only a little over one hundred years, I hope it will continue for hundreds of years to come, like its senior festivals, the Gion Matsuri and the Aoi Matsuri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For sightseeing in Kyoto, leave it to MK\u2019s chartered sightseeing taxi.<\/strong>
Your private driver is a Kyoto expert who handles both transport and guiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"MK\u4eac\u90fd\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

MK Media Editorial Department<\/strong>
The editorial department of MK Media, the owned media of MK Taxi. Our members include Kyoto Kentei \u201cMeister\u201d holders, automobile mechanics, editors of the in-car public relations magazine MK Newspaper<\/em>, and the managers of our official social media accounts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":567,"template":"","article_category":[],"class_list":["post-398","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","en-US"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktaxi-japan.com\/kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}