The Kyoto Nippon Festival have now revealed their poster visual for this year, and it features none other than Hatsune Miku! The event celebrates Japan’s history, art, and culture, and this year’s theme blends the old with the new, as its theme is “The National Treasures, Animated.”

Hatsune Miku Symphony designer Rella designed the visual, and it features the virtual idol in front of Sankomon gate. And as the theme suggests, it blends the old with the new.

The other Miku-related activities for the event includes the Hatsune Miku x Kyoto 36 Gasen Illustration Contest by Pixiv. It invites illustrators to depict Miku in Kyoto, with 36 winners to be chosen, and their works will be displayed during the event. the contest is named after the Heian Period’s “36 Immortals of Poetry,”

And that’s not all, because the event is also teaming up with Sword Art Online! The series has similarities with the classic Japanese tale of Kitano Tenjin, and national treasures depicting that tale will go on display alongside SAO exhibits. There will even be a discussion on how the characters from both stories are similar to each other! They will also release an audio drama, as well as new illustrations.

Six artists will also be be interpreting the original scrolls of the tale of Kitano Tenjin into a more modern style. These artists include Morikura En (Kizuna AI character designer), fuzichoco (Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai Desho! light novel illustrator), munashichi (Princess Principal concept designer), Toshiaki Takayama (Battle Spirits designer), LM7 (owner of the LAVENDER QUARTZ clothing line), and kamogawa (character designer for Kyoto subway anime project Chikatetsu ni Noru!).

The event will run throughout the city of Kyoto, and this year will take place between 25th October and 8th December.

source: Anime! Anime!