DATE:		May 15, 2007 from 10:00 to around 17:00 *Will be postponed to May 16 in case of rain
PLACE:		Shimogamo Shrine at 59 Shimogamo Izumikawa-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
DIRECTION:		City Bus #4 or #205 to Shimogamo-jinja-mae or to Tadasu-no-mori (to go to Shimogamo Shrine)
TEL:		81-75-781-0010 (Shimogamo Shrine)
ADMISSION:		Free
TEXT:		The magnificent Aoi Festival, one of Kyoto’s three great festivals along with the Gion and Jidai festivals, is held every May, the season of beautiful sunshine. This is a joint festival between the Shimogamo and Kamigamo shrines, and more than 500 celebrants in Heian-period costumes form a 700-meter long procession and march through the city of Kyoto. They leave Kyoto Imperial Palace and head to Kamigamo Shrine via Shimogamo Shrine. This procession is known as “Roto no gi” (rites in the street). The festival consists of three parts: Roto no gi, “Kyuchu no gi” (rites in the Imperial Court), and “Shato no gi” (rites in the shrine). It is believed to have originated some 1,400 years ago, when Kyoto suffered a disastrous harvest that led to starvation and disease, and Emperor Kinmei (540-571) sent a messenger to hold rites and call for the blessings of the Kamodeity.