Matsuri (���Ղ�) are generally festivals of Shinto religion, though as "Shinto" can mean many different things to many different people there is a tremendous amount of variety. Some matsuri, like the Yamamoto and Kurama Fire Matsuri, are centuries-, and in some cases even millenia-old affair carried on as village traditions throughout the ages, while others, such as the Jidai Matsuri, are Meiji-era political artifices designed to inspire a greater sense of national unity amongst the inhabitants of the city.