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The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine : |
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| For acquiring further information, please visit the Tsurugaoka Hachamangu Shrine official website | ||||||||
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| The Yabusame,
the Japanese sacred horse riding and archery ceremony according to the
Shinto rite is said to have been faithfully dedicated by Yoritomo Minamoto
the date 15th August 1187 for the great Shinto festival called "Houjyo-e"
at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine. It was developed as a solemn expression
of a martial spirit. Nowadays, the Yabusame ritual ceremony takes place annually on 16th September. At 1o'clock p.m., all the Yabusame equestrian archers and participants, who are dressed themselves up in full formal hunting outfits of the Samurai warriors in the Kamakura era, advance to the open air dance hall from the head office of the shrine. At the dance hall, the Holy Sake dedication and purification ceremony is solemnly carried out. |
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| At 2o'clock
p.m., the Yabusame archers, judge and scribe ride on their respective
steeds and march magnificently to the riding track, this is officially
called "Baba-iri". In the Yabusame ritual ceremony 2003, 3 honorable archers dedicated their superb technique to the Great Shinto God, the deity of Hachiman. After the Yabusame, a modified style of the Yabusame, with less emphasis on the ritual ceremony and more on practice, called "Kisha-Hasamimono", was also performed by 15 archers. Because "Kisha-Hasamimono" was introduced for hunting practice and martial arts training in Edo era, the costumes are casual and light weight. |
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