Yabusame　Japanese Horseback Archery

Yabusame

What is Yabusame? About Yabusame

Yabusame is the art of traditional horseback archery in Japan, where an archer needs to shoot at a target with a whistling arrow from a galloping horse.
The art of Yabusame has been handed down from one generation to the next. Yabusame is presented as a sacred ritual at Shinto shrines.

○　The art of traditional horseback archery

Yabusame demands that archers master both equestrian and toxophilite techniques.
In a Yabusame exhibition, an archer demonstrates 'silent movements' using archery skills and also presents 'strenuous movements' using horse-riding skills.
You can watch the great skill to control and harmonize the two different movements in a Yabusame exhibition.

○　The tradition of the Yabusame art

Yabusame equestrian and toxophilite techniques have been handed down since ancient times to the present age.
We are making efforts to protect and improve the original manners of Yabusame and we are also trying to continue to hand down the tradition to subsequent generations.

Ogasawara-ryu Yabusame succeeded from the ruling family of the Kokura domain

Ogasawara-ryu Yabusame is an orthodox school of Japanese horseback archery, which was handed down from the ruling family of the Kokura domain in the Edo period.
In addition, Nagamune Minamoto was allowed to succeed as the master of the Ogasawara School of Yabusame by Tadamune Ogasawara who was the 32nd family head of Ogasawara.

Nagamune Minamoto founded a club, 'Butoku-kai', to preserve the traditional techniques and manners of Yabusame horseback archery and now he, as the master of the club, is making an effort to hand down the equestrian and toxophilite arts to subsequent generations.