KASAGAKE AT THE KAMIGAMO SHRINE IN KYOTO
Kasagake is one type of Japanese traditional archery and one of the arts practiced by the Samurai. More photos below.
This archery festival at the Kamigamo Shrine, is the only Kasagake event currently celebrated in the Kansai Region, where Kyoto is located, and the only one conducted as a Shrine ritual in all of Japan.
Also, this event is famous for the participation of female archers.
The day of the festival was a bit rainy, the running path was muddy but not to the point of slippery, and the arrows and bows were also wet. Despite all of this, the archers were incredibly graceful and hit many targets which always produced a collective wow in the viewers.
What you will see in the photos below:
There is a ceremony before they begin which consists of the archers being offered an arrow.
They follow that by doing test runs on the 215 meter grassy path.
They ride one way and attempt to hit three ceramic targets on the left, then they ride back and have a new set of targets to go for. The targets on the way back are wooden squares which have been placed down low.
The way their bodies move to shoot in this direction is very different from when they shoot the targets up high. When they shoot low it's more of an attack.
When they are done shooting, they have another ceremony during which the best of the day is acknowledged and given a wooden target.
Then they finish it off, by each of them having a bit of sake offered to them by a priest.
Then there is a parade and group photo.
The silence of it all was something I'd never experienced outside of my thoughts and seeing this in person was the best thing ever.
Kasagake is one type of Japanese traditional archery and one of the arts practiced by the Samurai. More photos below.
This archery festival at the Kamigamo Shrine, is the only Kasagake event currently celebrated in the Kansai Region, where Kyoto is located, and the only one conducted as a Shrine ritual in all of Japan.
Also, this event is famous for the participation of female archers.
The day of the festival was a bit rainy, the running path was muddy but not to the point of slippery, and the arrows and bows were also wet. Despite all of this, the archers were incredibly graceful and hit many targets which always produced a collective wow in the viewers.
What you will see in the photos below:
There is a ceremony before they begin which consists of the archers being offered an arrow.
They follow that by doing test runs on the 215 meter grassy path.
They ride one way and attempt to hit three ceramic targets on the left, then they ride back and have a new set of targets to go for. The targets on the way back are wooden squares which have been placed down low.
The way their bodies move to shoot in this direction is very different from when they shoot the targets up high. When they shoot low it's more of an attack.
When they are done shooting, they have another ceremony during which the best of the day is acknowledged and given a wooden target.
Then they finish it off, by each of them having a bit of sake offered to them by a priest.
Then there is a parade and group photo.
The silence of it all was something I'd never experienced outside of my thoughts and seeing this in person was the best thing ever.
