Kyoto in September is a city on the threshold of autumn. The cicada chorus fades and bush clover begins to bloom.
The days are still warm but cormorant fishing and riverside dining are there till late September to help you cool off.
Above all, this is the time of the year when echoes of the imperial court resound: the country's history and culture can be experienced at a range of traditional events. If you plan to visit Kyoto in this month, be sure to head to the temples and shrines to catch the lingering elegance of Heian times.
This September 2025 event guide introduces aristocratic customs - banquets with chrysanthemum sake, poetry under the harvest moon - that have shaped the city’s traditional festivals. Just note that some event schedules follow the waxing and waning of the moon so be sure to check the official websites for the latest dates.
Choyo no Sekku: Chrysanthemums and Crows
When: September 9, rituals from around 10am
Where: Kamigamo Shrine
On the ninth day of the ninth month, Kyoto marks Choyo no Sekku, one of the Five Seasonal Festivals. Also known as the Double Ninth Festival, this observance originated in ancient China and spread across East Asia. Today, it remains part of the cultural calendar in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
In Japan, the festival took root in the Heian period (794–1185), an age when the imperial court defined the seasons with poetry, ritual and refined gatherings.
Unlike the Nara period before it, which was dominated by imported Chinese models of governance, the Heian age was marked by the flowering of a distinct Japanese culture.
During Choyo no Sekku, nobles in Kyoto composed verses, admired chrysanthemums and drank sake infused with their petals. They also practiced kisewata, laying cotton on chrysanthemum blossoms overnight so that dew and fragrance could be absorbed by the cotton, which was used the next morning to purify the body.
At Kamigamo Shrine, one of Kyoto’s oldest Shinto shrines, these traditions live on. Priests perform offerings with chrysanthemums and visitors may sip chrysanthemum sake as part of the day’s observance.
If you go, don't miss the ritual in front of two symbolic sand cones where priests hop and caw like crows in honor of the three-legged yatagarasu, the sacred crow said to have guided Japan’s first emperor on his path.
The rite also purifies the arena of the next event: karasuzumo, or crow sumo. The mood changes from solemnity to hilarity as boys from the shrine neighborhoods compete in wrestling matches to entertain the shrine deity.
Karasuzumo is thought to have its roots in the ancient custom of offering sumo matches to the gods as a prayer for a bountiful harvest.
To watch the festival from start to finish is to witness an event both refined and playful, ceremonious and light-hearted - a mirror of the Heian court itself.
Yoshitsune Festival: Martial Arts on a Tengu Mountain
When: September 15, 2025; from 11am
Where: Kurama-dera, Mount Kurama
If you make a trip to Kyoto in September and would like to go off the beaten path, head to Kurama-dera, a temple on Mount Kurama, for Yoshitsune-sai, a memorial to one of Japan’s most famous samurai.
The young Minamoto no Yoshitsune - known as Ushiwakamaru - was exiled to Kurama-dera after his father's death. According to legend, he was taught martial arts and military strategy by tengu - crow yokai - and their king Sojobo. (Look out for the statue of a giant tengu outside Kurama station.)
Yoshitsune’s brilliance later turned the tide of the Genpei War but strife with his brother Yoritomo brought about his tragic end. It is said that his spirit returned to the mountain, where he is now enshrined as a guardian deity.
Held annually in September, the Yoshitsune festival includes a memorial service and martial arts demonstrations performed as an offering.
If you're lucky, you may also see a dance celebrating the great warrior and the tengu said to have taught him the art of war.
Kushi Matsuri in Gion: A Festival of Combs
When: Fourth Monday of September; 1pm - 3pm (Parade begins at 2pm)
Where: Yasui Konpiragu Shrine and the streets of Gion
Of the many Kyoto festivals, the Kushi Matsuri must be one of the most charming. An event held by the Kyoto Beauty Culture Club, a group on a mission to preserve traditional Japanese hairdressing techniques, the festival is dedicated to combs and hair ornaments.
The event begins with a Shinto ritual at Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, where a mound called Kushizuka enshrines used combs. Hairdressers from Kyoto and Osaka give thanks for these everyday objects that have shaped beauty for centuries.
Afterward, a procession moves through the geisha district of Gion. Women wearing traditional costumes sport hairstyles from different eras, from Kofun hairdos to the elaborate coiffures of the Heian and Edo periods.
Each hairstyle and comb tells a story of how beauty has been imagined across Japan’s ages. The matsuri unfolds like a living history scroll, honoring objects that link memory, artistry and the daily act of adornment.
Kangetsu no Yube: Heian-Style Moon Viewing
When: October 4-6, 2025, 5:30pm-9pm (last entry: 8:30pm)
Where: Daikaku-ji
In September and October, Kyoto hosts moon-viewing events that recall the refined life of the Heian court. The harvest moon in 2025 falls on October 6, so Daikaku-ji’s Kangetsu no Yube - more usually held in September - will be held in early October.
Moon viewing, or tsukimi, was one of the pleasures of the Heian period. Courtiers drifted in boats, drinking sake and composing poetry as they gazed at the mid-autumn moon. At Daikaku-ji, once the villa of Emperor Saga, this courtly pastime is reborn each year.
On Osawa Pond, famed as one of Japan’s three best moon-viewing sites, dragon-headed boats glide across the water. Even if you fail to secure a ticket, you can still stroll around the Osawa Pond area and enjoy the two moons: one in the night sky and the reflection on the surface of the water.
One viewing spot is the special altar with offerings of rice dumplings and flowers. On the three evenings of the event, monks will pray there for a good harvest and the happiness of the people.
Tsukimi in Kyoto is often enjoyed as a cultural event celebrating the beauty of the moon but it has its more contemplative side. Even without traditional music in the background, gazing at the sky leads quite naturally to meditation and, perhaps, a prayer for the well-being of loved ones looking up at the moon in another part of the world.
Meigetsu Kangen-sai: Court Music Under the Harvest Moon
When: Usually held in September but moves to October 6 in 2025; from 5:30pm
Where: Shimogamo Jinja
Another of Kyoto’s great moon-viewing festivals takes place at Shimogamo Jinja, one of the city’s oldest shrines and a Unesco World Heritage site.
Like the Daikaku-ji moon-viewing, the event moves to October in 2025 to align with the lunar calendar and the harvest moon.
Shimogamo Shrine, deeply tied to the imperial court, is located in the sacred forest of Tadasu no Mori. Here the Meigetsu Kangen-sai unfolds: first a Shinto ceremony complete with Kyoto vegetables and other offerings, then performances of gagaku court music and bugaku dance, and a tea ceremony gathering.
The music of instruments enjoyed since ancient times - koto, biwa, shakuhachi - feels like a direct line back to Heian salons. It echoes in your ears even when you leave, passing through the ancient forest and back into the modern world.
A Season of Imperial Court Echoes
September in Kyoto is more than a list of events and festivals - it's a tapestry woven from imperial memory.
It's also a quieter time to visit, resting between the summer vacation crowds and the surge of travelers that begins in October and peaks in November.
As the city transitions to autumn, the wind seems to carry the scents and sounds of the Heian period - rituals are performed, prayers offered and courtly dance and music grace the city once more.
For visitors, events during this time are more than tourist attractions. They are invitations to discover Kyoto through the lens of its courtly past, when ceremonies were performed for health and happiness, beauty itself was a form of devotion and the autumn moon inspired both poetry and prayer.
Written by Janice Tay