Japan’s traditional ‘yabusame’ horseback archery held at Kamakura shrine

Crowds of spectators have enjoyed a performance of traditional Japanese horseback archery, known as “yabusame,” at a Shinto shrine near Tokyo. It was took place on Tuesday and it is usually held on September 16 during the shrine’s annual festival. But it was canceled last year due to a horse-riding accident during practice.

Archers dressed in samurai costumes shot one arrow after another at three targets while galloping about 250 meters on their horses. Onlookers cheered when the arrows hit the about 50-centimeter-square targets. A man in his 60s from Nagano Prefecture said it was breathtaking up close, and that he was impressed by the archers’ skills.