With its formal attire and long-practiced traditions, even modern Japanese archery (kyudo) feels like a step back in time. A fascinating sight that these previously posted photographs hopefully capture.
But seeing the same martial art performed in Shinto-related and wonderfully ancient outfits, is arguably even more of a spectacle.
winnie says
Nice shot!!
I love and admire Japanese ancient outfits because they are so cool and magnificent!
I could hardly see any of this beautiful sight in real life except watching the Japanese Taiga Drama or animation.
Lee says
Thanks!
Yeah, they were pretty special to see. Special in fact all the way down from the hats to the shoes. I can only imagine how hot they must have felt though wearing all those layers…
Ken C says
That’s brilliant. I was in Takaoka last week and was lucky enough to see a group of people practicing. Another first for me.
Lee says
This was the same for me. Seen archery before, but nothing like this. A real treat.
Hans ter Horst says
Very nice, what an amazing clothes and colours! I have been to a demonstration of Japanese archery and hitting the target seemed like an afterthought, it is all about the motions until release of the arrow, right?
Lee says
The kyudo I linked to was a competition, so whilst the motions and everything else were important, scoring was the real aim. Or at least that’s how I saw it.
This, on the other hand, was very different. Just like the demonstration you saw, hitting the target seemed almost irrelevant. In fact the whole time I stood there, nobody scored a hit. And nobody seemed to care, either.