Yabusame Festival

Yabusame Festival

The archery festival in Japan where it commence with the archer shooting a 'turnip shaped' arrow at a wooden target is popularly called as the Yabusame festival. The festival of the performing arts is celebrated in Japan in the month of September.

It was during the Kamakura period that this type of archery first originated. It was Minamoto who realized that his samurai army lacked the skills in the discipline of archery so he introduced Yabusame as a practice into his army. Present day Japan witnesses Yabusame as a festival which is celebrated mainly at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura. The art is also performed in Samukawa, on the beach at Zushi and many other locations.

The bow and arrow tradition in Japan dates back to the Jomon Period. The Yayoi culture (300 BC - 300 AD) brings in the long, unique asymmetrical bow style with the grip below the center to Yabusame. The bow and the arrow symbolizes authority and power in the Japanese culture. Yabusame inspired the legendary first emperor of Japan to depict himself with a bow and an arrow.

Traditionally Yabusame is celebrated on 18th and 19th day of the month of September. The grand Matsuri is organized on a gravel road. An archer charges down the road galloping down the 225 meter long track on the horse back fires an arrow. As expected, being an archery festival the arrows are shot just as a part of demonstration of skills but as the legend holds the archers actually try to drive away the dangers of fire, to evade quarrels and to drive away the evil spirits and to offer worships for the well being of the worshippers by shooting the arrows.

Now for the archers. This pivotal and prestigious role is not performed surprisingly by a priest or a descendent of the Samurai. Rather the performers are selected from the lot of the common folks of the native community. It is of great honor to be selected as one of the performers so from the primitive times people used to line up in huge numbers to be a part of the celebration. Later to reduce the rush the organizers came up with few restrictions and applied some guidelines for the common man to be a performer. Today the chosen ones have to spend a week in feeding and taking care of the horses of the ceremony a week prior to the occasion. They have to go through a ceremony of purification as well.

This famed festival attract hundreds of revelers from all over.

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