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The primary aim of Aoi-matsuri, which takes place in Kyoto on May 15th, is to uphold the refined traditions and customs of the Heian Court and the ancient songs and dances given as offerings to the celebrated deities. It emphasizes at the same time the role of purification encountered at every step in order to meet the sacred. The festival consists of two main parts - the religious rituals which take place at the two Kamo-shrines and the grand procession parading through the old capital. The bouquet of Japanese traditional arts - ikebana, tea ceremony, poem contest, etc. - displayed at Kamo-shrines as offerings to the ensuing festival as well as the breath-taking landscape and the impressive brightly colored vermillion wooden sanctuaries around, imbued with 13 century-old mystery, make one feel in an out-of-the-world realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]