Horse Race at the Kamo Shrine (Kamo kurabeuma zu) ca. 1600 Unidentified The famous horse race at Kyotos Kamo Shrine, held annually on the fifth day of the fifth month since the Heian period, was a ritual event preceding the Aoi Festival (Aoi Matsuri) celebrated on the fifteenth of the month. As in almost all depictions of the Kamo horse race, this folding-screen image shows several handsomely caparisoned horses racing along the track from right to left between temporary fences, as spectators, including aristocrats, priests, samurai, musicians, townspeople and even several Europeans (nanbanjin) look on. Many onlookers are also seated on the veranda of the large hall at the top of the composition. There, an audience is being given by an august individual who is clearly a member of the imperial family, possibly the emperor. The figure kneeling before him on the veranda is a high-ranking cleric, wearing a magnificent kesa (monks robe, worn draped over the left shoulder and under the righ