Kyoto's major festival quiet without procession amid pandemic

Kyoto's Aoi Matsuri, one of the city's three main festivals, was held Friday on a scaled-down basis, with the colorful procession that has been a major tourist attraction canceled amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.Organizers decided in March to cancel the procession on an 8-kilometer route in the ancient Japanese capital, which usually involves about 500 participants dressed in traditional aristocratic-style costumes of the Heian Period (794-1185) and drew 47,000 spectators last year.The festival, which dates back about 1,500 years, is said to have begun as a way to pray for a good harves…READ FULL ARTICLE