Held annually on 15 May, Aoi Matsuri is a Heian-style procession from the Imperial Palace to the Kamo Shrines (Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine). The highlight of the festival are richly decorated Ox carts and the Saiō, a young female chosen every year to undergo purification before the parade, carried around on a palanquin, and carrying out religious rites at the shrines during the festival.