Copyright© Jesús Guzmán-Moya This image is protected under International Copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without written permission. The Aoi Matsuri or Hollyhock Festival takes place in Kyoto every year on May 15 and supposedly dates back to the Heian period when the local citizenry's prayers for divine benevolence were answered. The procession of about 500-600 people dressed in period costumes leaves from the south of the Imperial Palace. It then heads north complete with oxcarts, an imperial messenger, the odd horse and lots of hollyhock for Shimogamo Shrine. It then sets off for the sister shrine of Kamigamo.