Horses race in Heian-era costume. At Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, on the fifth of May, the Kamo Kurabeuma is run. Nearly a thousand years ago, a horse-racing rite held within the imperial court was moved here. The riders, called norijiri, wear vivid Heian robes and gallop the course in pairs. The contest is over in an instant, gone in a flash. Yet for that instant there is a long ceremony, grooming the horses, setting the costumes right, praying to the gods, all for a sprint of mere seconds. The rite dates to 1093, the reign of Emperor Horikawa, and though wars have interrupted it, the tradition has been handed down ever since. Across a course bright with new green, the colors of ancient robes flash past. A scene from a thousand years ago, still here. A rite that adorns early summer in Kyoto.