The ancient ritual of Yabusame

"Yabusame," or mounted archery, is an exciting spectacle that has been practiced for over a thousand years in Japan. Hooves thunder, arrows whistle and find their target with a "thok." The ritual, with the warriors in their colorful medieval costumes, gives visitors a glimpse into Japan's past.

Strictly speaking, yabusame is not just a demonstration of arrow-shooting and horseback-riding skill. Rather, it is primarily a Shinto ritual, performed as a rite of purity and a way of praying for peace in the land. It is believed to date back at least to the 5th century AD, and was probably practiced long before then. In 1187 the ritual began to be regularly practiced at Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura, at the order of Shogun Minamoto No Yorimoto, an enthusiastic practitioner of the art  who saw it as a way of maintaining his warriors' prowess at the important martial skills of horsemanship and archery, as well as their mental strength and religious devotion.

The ritual itself is simple, three archers dressed in traditional hunting garb take turns riding at full gallop down a narrow track. On the left side of the track are square targets spaced about 70 meters apart, which the archer lines up in his sights and shoots in turn. The action itself is extremely difficult -- the rider must spur the horse to a full gallop, then drop the reins, raise the bow, set the arrow and shoot three times, all in a span of about 20 seconds. If he can't line up the target and shoot in time, he must drop that arrow and pick up another for the next shot. Riders who hit all three targets are allowed to shoot at three clay bulls-eyes. After the ritual, the targets are presented to the leaders for inspection, and at some rituals, the targets are used in divination for the following year's harvest. Arrows that hit their targets are treasured as good luck charms.

Yabusame is performed all over the country. Large gatherings take place at Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura, at Toshogu shrine in Nikko, and at Kasama Inari Shrine in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, where up to 100,000 people gather to watch.