Osaki Hachimangu Shrine and the Yabusame Archers

(大崎八幡宮と流鏑馬的射の人々)

21 September – 27 November 2022・Location: The Yubikan (旧有備館), Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture...

The Osaki Hachimangu Shrine and its Yabasume Archers: An Exhibition

Yabusame is a traditional kind of Japanese archery on horseback that became wildly popular at the end of the Heian period (794–1185) and throughout the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Initially, yabusame was simply a form of military training that combined horsemanship and archery. Being able to skilfully shoot at targets while galloping at full speed on horseback was an important skill for warriors to master at the time. The first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, Minamoto no Yoritomo, then institutionalized yabasume as an annual Shinto ceremonial ritual starting in 1187. The ceremony is still practiced today in Hachiman Shrines across the country, the most famous of which takes place at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura, where the ritual was first institutionalized.

During the Edo period, the Osaki Hachimangu Shrine in Sendai recruited farmers from Shimomone in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, and tasked them with the Shrine's annual yabusame ceremony. It has since been performed there yearly ever since the feudal period! This exhibition guides you through the art of yabusame at Sendai's Osaki Hachimangu Shrine, and introduces the masterful people involved in this traditional form of Japanese archery. The venue is also of historical significance. Held at the the Yubikan, a gorgeous samurai villa and national historical site, it was formerly a school founded by the Iwadeyama branch of the Date clan in 1850. The site is also home to incredible gardens with spectacularly scenic views.

Official Page (Japanese): yubikan.jp

Time/Hours: 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)