Have you heard about the three biggest festivals in Kyoto? One is Aoi Matsuri (葵祭) in May, the other is Gion Matsuri (祇園祭) in July, and another is Jidai Matsuri (時代祭) in October. First of all, Aoi Matsuri is the oldest of the three biggest festivals. This ceremony shows costumes of the Heian Period (794-1185) and things that are decorated with hollyhock flowers that originated from this festival. Next, Gion Matsuri has more than 1,000 years of history. The highlights of this festivals are Yoiyama and Yamaboko Junko. Everyone can see unique floats and eat some food at the stands. Finally, Jidai Matsuri is held for the celebration of the Heian Jingu Shrine which is one of the shrines in Kyoto. This festival has a parade displaying traditional costumes. In this presentation, the presenter will explain the characteristics and origins of the three festivals represented by Kyoto.
The Southwest trip was absolutely amazing because I leaned the culture of the area a lot. I spent 7 days in the southwest and I impressed by people who live there and by their culture. These things were totally different from Japan and the people there preserved their traditions carefully. I talk to a lot of Americans and I saw wonderful nature during the trip. There are three absolutely wonderfu and amazing places that I enjoyed. First, I went to a lot of museums and all of them were very interesting. I especially liked The Museum of International Folk Art. The museum has more than 130,000 objects from more than 100 countries! My favorite object was a smiling skeleton doll. This object’s theme was Day of The Dead. When I saw it, I remembered COCO which is a Pixar movie. I also liked The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Georgia O’Keeffe was an American artist and she painted a lot of flowers and nature. I think her paintings are brimming with kindness ...