The ''Saiō Matsuri'' (斎王まつり) is a 2-day festival held on the first weekend of June in the town of
Meiwa, Mie Prefecture in
Japan. The Saiō Matsuri celebrates the town's history of once being an Imperial residence. The festival re-enacts the march of the
Saiō and her entourage to the nearby
Ise Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and .
The Inner ...
. The festival consists of over 100 people dressed in spectacular
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...
costume, marching down a section of the Ise Kada, the old Ise Pilgrimage road, toward the . 2006 saw the celebration of the 24th annual Saiō Matsuri.
See also
* ''
Aoi Matsuri
The , or "Hollyhock Festival", (although commonly, but mistakenly identified as "hollyhock", the "aoi" actually belongs to the birthwort family and translates as "wild ginger"—Asarum, as correctly pointed in the Wikipedia article on the Toku ...
'' in Kyoto
References
Saio Matsuri (Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saio Matsuri
Festivals in Mie Prefecture
Festivals in Japan
Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)
June observances
Saigū