June
Nestled in a mountain embrace, Kyoto starts to feel the heat come June, which delights the plant life and encloses the city in a leaf-covered haze. Purification rituals are conducted throughout the city in various shrines and temples to mark the completion of the first half of the year and to pray for the next, and residents turn their focus to the cooler outlying areas to relax and enjoy the remainders of spring.
Kifune Matsuri
Kifune Shrine's annual Kifune Festival, held at the changing of the seasons, is a lively one with multiple happenings throughout the day from morning until evening.
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Kyoto Takigi Nō
The oldest style of Japanese theater still practiced today, tracing its origins back over six hundred years, nō (or "noh") is a highly stylized, ritualistic combination of narrative music and dance with actors donning rich costumes and masks to portray their roles.
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Taue-sai
Held at the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine on June 10th, the Taue-sai is a traditional festival closely tied to rice cultivation.
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Ajisai Matsuri
Fujinomori Shrine in southern Kyoto hosts an Ajisai Matsuri (Hydrangea Festival) and holds a month-long special opening of its two hydrangea gardens from the beginning of June.
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Aoba Matsuri
Aoba Matsuri at Chishaku-in temple is a prime chance to experience a fire ritual popular in shugendō, an eclectic form of mountain asceticism.
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Takekiri-eshiki
On June 20th Kurama-dera holds their annual bamboo cutting ritual, the Takekiri-eshiki, held as homage to a legend about a monk of the temple and his battle with supernatural serpents, as well as a form of divination regarding the crop futures in surrounding areas.
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Nagoshi no Harae
Nagoshi no Harae, the Purification Ritual of Summer's Passing, allows people to cleanse themselves of misdeeds committed in the first half of the year and to pray for the latter half yet to come.
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Kyoto Geijutsu Hanabi Fireworks Festival
The Kyoto Geijutsu Hanabi event offers people a chance to enjoy summer fireworks from seating at the expansive Kyoto Racecourse. Set to music and with an emphasis on artistic use of shapes and colors, this fireworks festival makes for a fun way to spend an evening ooh-ing and aah-ing!
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Kyoto Antique Fair
The Kyoto Antique Fair, the largest antique fair in western Japan, is held three times a year at the Kyoto Pulse Plaza convention center. With over 350 dealers setting up stalls at this event offering a variety of items and prices, there's surely no antique you can't find!
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Hydrangea
With the rainy season comes the water-loving hydrangea, brightening up Kyoto with a startling variety of colors that will pick you up no matter how dreary the weather may be.
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