Horseback shooting - Kisha

It is an archery technique in which a horse is mounted and shot at a target. It can also be written as horse archery and read as "umayumi". At the Imperial Court, it was customary for the Emperor to visit the Butokuden Palace on the Boy's Day, May 5th, to watch the horse archery by the officials of the Guard, and this is also called the Horse Archery Festival. On April 28th (27th in the case of a small month) prior to the horse archery, there is a ceremony called Komahiki, where the Emperor inspects the horses kept in the stables of the Meryo stables and those kept in the country (tributes from the horses of various provinces) at the Butokuden Palace, and on May 3rd to 6th, which are in between the festival days, the Tetsugai ceremony of the Left and Right Guards was also held. This is what later led to the Yabusame of the samurai.

[Kazuki Sugimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

騎馬で的を射る弓技。馬射とも書き、「うまゆみ」とも訓(よ)む。朝廷では5月5日の端午の節日に、天皇が武徳殿に臨幸して衛府の官人の騎射を御覧になるのが例であり、これを騎射の節ともよぶ。騎射に先だつ4月28日（小の月は27日）には、天皇が櫪飼(いたがい)（馬寮(めりょう)の厩(うまや)で飼養）・国飼（諸国の牧から貢進）の馬を武徳殿で閲する駒牽(こまひき)の儀があり、また節日を挟む5月3～6日には左右衛府の手結(てつがい)も行われた。後の武家の流鏑馬(やぶさめ)につながるものである。

［杉本一樹］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例