Traditional Japanese horseback archery, known as “yabusame,” was performed on Wednesday at the Nikko Toshogu Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.
Ten archers in colorful traditional costumes shot arrows at targets while riding their horses along a 250-meter course at the front approach to the shrine.
Onlookers cheered every time the arrows hit the targets.
A woman from Tokyo said this was the first time she had seen horseback archery and it was impressive.
Another woman from neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture said she was overwhelmed by the power of the horses and the arrows hitting the targets. She added it’s the kind of event that everyone in Japan wants to see at least once in their lives.
The Hyakumonozoroi Sennin Musha Gyoretsu parade is being held at the shrine’s autumn grand festival on Thursday.
The parade takes place every spring and autumn to reenact the procession that transferred the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan from the 17th to the late 19th century.