The Saiō Matsuri is a 2 day festival held on the first weekend of June in the town of Meiwa, Mie Prefecture

Meiwa, Mie

is a town located in the Taki District, of central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan.In 1958, the town of Sanwa and the village of Saimei merged to form the town of Meiwa.-History:...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The Saiō Matsuri celebrates the town's history of once being an Imperial residence. The festival re-enacts the march of the Saiō

Saio

A , also known as "Itsuki no Miko", was an unmarried female relative of the Japanese emperor, sent to Ise to serve at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century until the 14th century. The Saiō's residence, Saikū , was approximately 10 km north-west of the shrine...

 and her entourage to the nearby Ise Shrine

Ise Shrine

is a Shinto shrine dedicated to goddess Amaterasu-ōmikami, located in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture, Japan. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is in fact a shrine complex composed of a large number of Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and ....

. The festival consists of over 100 people dressed in spectacular Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

costume, marching down a section of the Ise Kada, the old Ise Pilgrimage road, toward the Saiku Historical Museum. 2006 saw the celebration of the 24th annual Saiō Matsuri.