Yabusame (the horseback archery) held at Ohmi-jingu shrine, Shiga Prefecture

I went to view Yabusame (the horseback archery) at Ohmi-jingu shrine, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture on June 2nd. 

Yabusame is the Japanese traditional skill, practice and rite of shooting arrows from a galloping horse. 

Currently, yabusame is actively performed in many local areas in Japan as a Shinto ritual, and is a main tourist attraction.

Five archers appeared on horseback.　They are wearing the costumes of the Kamakura period about 800 years ago.

At first, archers let the horses gallop to warm up before the starting of Yabusame. It reminded me of the samurai drama on TV, such as Abarenbo Shogun starring Ken Matsudaira.

One of the five archers is a female one.

There are three sizes in the targets used in yabusame.  At the first demonstration, the target with color-coded concentric circles is placed. This archer pierced the target at almost the center. The tip of the arrow is attached a turnip-shaped whistle to sound when fired.　

This time, the arrow hit the off-center of the target, unfortunately.

Then, the target size changes to smaller ones. In the second demonstration, diamond shaped targets are used (shown by a black arrow). Finally, small round targets are used (red arrow). I think it's difficult to hit.  

If an arrow hits the target, the target board will break. 

Regrettably, the arrow missed the smallest target.

Finally, all the archers gathered and the best archer was examined in front of the magistrate, the person sitting in the chair.