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Sep 14 2012 6 Comments

Japanese archery in colourful and Shinto-related outfits

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.

ancient Japanese archery kimono

Categorized: Culture, Photography, Religion

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. winnie says

    9/14/2012 at 8:32 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/14/2012 at 2:50 pm

      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…

      Reply
  2. Ken C says

    9/14/2012 at 4:18 pm

    That’s brilliant. I was in Takaoka last week and was lucky enough to see a group of people practicing. Another first for me.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/14/2012 at 10:45 pm

      This was the same for me. Seen archery before, but nothing like this. A real treat.

      Reply
  3. Hans ter Horst says

    9/14/2012 at 9:45 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/14/2012 at 10:54 pm

      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.

      Reply

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