Hiranojinja Shrine

Hirano Shrine was moved here from the rear palace of the Heijo court when the capital shifted to Heian-kyo, and enshrines the Hirano deity. Both the Minamoto and Taira clans venerated it as their tutelary shrine. It has been famous since early times for its night cherry blossom, and at the blossom festival on 10 April a procession of some 200 people winds beneath the trees behind a herald's drum: demons clearing the way, weaver maidens in Tenpyo dress, mounted archers, the sacred palanquin, dyers' daughters of the Genroku era, and courtiers performing ancient dance and the winding-stream game. Around 400 trees of some 60 varieties bloom here, the earliest from early March, the latest into early May. The main hall, in the distinctive Hirano style, is an Important Cultural Property.