Daigo-ji Temple's annual Hanami Festival commemorates the legendary flower-viewing party held by warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598, when he invited hundreds of guests to admire the temple's cherry blossoms. Held on the first Sunday of April, the event features a colourful procession of participants dressed as samurai, court nobles, and attendants parading through the Sanbō-in garden, which Hideyoshi himself designed. The temple's 700 cherry trees, including weeping varieties, are in near-peak bloom, and the Sanbō-in's nationally designated garden can be entered separately. Daigo-ji's five-storey pagoda—Kyoto's oldest standing structure—provides an unforgettable backdrop.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Cherry Blossom
- Season
- Spring
- Month
- First Sunday of April
- Region
- Kansai
- Prefecture
- Kyoto
- City
- Kyoto
Highlights
- ◆Costumed re-enactment of Hideyoshi's 1598 hanami procession
- ◆700+ cherry trees including weeping varieties
- ◆Access to the historic Sanbō-in garden designed by Hideyoshi
- ◆Kyoto's oldest five-storey pagoda as a blossom backdrop
- ◆UNESCO World Heritage site setting