Aoi Festival In Kyoto

KYOTO, JAPAN - MAY 15: Saio-Dai, whose role is now played by an unmarried woman from Kyoto but was traditionally carried out by a sister or daughter of the Emperor to dedicate herself to the Shimogamo shrine to maintain ritual purity and to represent the Emperor at Aoi festival, is carried on a palanquin during the Aoi Festival on May 15, 2018 in Kyoto, Japan. Aoi Festival is one of the three main festivals of Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto and dates back 1400 years. Around 500 participants dressed as nobles of the Heian Period (794-1185), walk with decorated ox carts and horses around eight kilometres from Kyoto Imperial Palace to Shimogamo and Kamigamo shrines, with approximately 15,000 visitors gathered along the route. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)