Kyoto holds "Festival of the Ages"

A parade of 2,000 people wearing Japanese costumes from various historical periods was held in Kyoto on Sunday.

A crowd of about 50,000 watched the procession along a 4.5-kilometer course from the Kyoto Imperial Palace to the Heian Shrine.

The Jidai Matsuri is one of the city's 3 biggest festivals. It started in 1895 when Kyoto celebrated the 1,100th anniversary of its founding in the Heian period.

Sunday's parade was led by a military band dressed in the style of the Meiji era in the late 19th century. The next group represented the popular revolutionaries who helped organize the Meiji Restoration in the closing days of the Edo period, which ended in 1867.

At the end of the parade were women in elaborate costumes from the Heian period.

Survivors of the March 11th disaster who are living in Kyoto were invited to watch the parade.

A woman said she had to evacuate her hometown in Fukushima Prefecture because of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, but the beautiful parade made her feel less homesick.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 23:08 +0900 (JST)