Back in September, Stan and I went to a reenactment of a traditional Tsukimi (Moon viewing) ceremony at Saiku/Itsukinomiya in Meiwa. Thanks to Dave for getting us tickets!
Saiku was the home of the Saio, a high priestess who worshipped the Sun Goddess on behlf of the emperor, from the 7th century through the 14th century. The Saio wore beautiful 12-layer kimonos, which were modeled by the women in this ceremony.
In addition to seeing the Saio and her court make autumn offerings to Shinto gods, we also saw dancing and music from the Heian period. The Tsukimi ceremony was amazing- one of the most beautiful things I've been able to see in Japan!





The two pictures above are of the woman who was playing Saio.



The two pictures above are the women who played Saio's attendants.