On a recent Saturday, we went to see an old-style Japanese "Yabusame" competition: Men in traditional Japanese-cowboy costumes shoot arrows at small targets while riding at full speed on horseback. As you might imagine, the kids loved it.
Yabusame (according to info handed out on site) was "a necessary accomplisment of a samurai" during two shogunate eras, in the late 1100s and early 1700s.
The competition, in Sumida Park near Asakusa every April, is conducted on a long, straight gravel path lined with ropes. At the starting point, a man in traditional dress makes a circle with a large white fan, like the hand of a clock, to signal the next rider's approach.
There are judges and assistants in costumes and hats, all wearing sandals and socks despite the mud.
I saw only one woman on the course; she replaced the broken targets in front of us, and her hat and clothes were very cool.
On to the contest:
Each horse and archer race out of the starting gate and reach the first target in about five seconds. The rider holds an enormous bow; his arrows are in a sling on his back. He controls the horse with his legs. He reaches for an arrow, loads it into the bow, slowwwwwly pulls back on the bowstring and, sometimes with a warlike shout, fires at a thin board target - I'm guessing 18 inches square - mounted on a tall post.
The target, if hit properly, blasts apart and releases a burst of confetti. Then he races on, gathering speed for another quarter-kilometer to the next target.
I managed, after many tries, to make a good video of this.
There were about 10 riders who cycled thru the course three times as we watched. After each round, they paraded back to the start.
Also after each round, there was a brief ceremony with two young men, who exchanged arrows and bowed to each other.
Like any modern family, we sometimes get stuck in the inertia of normal life: school, errands, swim lessons, playgrounds, dinner, the Disney Channel. An excursion like this reminds me why we are living in Japan.
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