On Sunday of my first whole weekend in Fukuoka, our language school suggested that we head to Yanagawa to see Yabusame.
I really had no idea what it was we were going to see but it sounded fun and I was looking forward to another outing with our language group, who were very entertaining. Tanoshii desu. (Very funny!)
We all met at the school so we could help the others to find the right train (the train to Yanagawa is on the same line as we take to Ijiri Station where we live). A few minutes later we were steaming through beautiful countryside towards Yanagawa.
Arriving in Yanagawa I could see why the managers of our hostel had been so excited about us travelling there and why they had exclaimed over and over
"Kerei desu!" which in Nihongo means "Pretty!" and pretty it was - actually beautiful would have been more appropriate - amazing and outstanding even better - even breathtaking would have fit! :)
The blossoms were still flowering profusely there and Yabusame was held in a park that had many beautiful shrines and an otera (temples) as well.
It wasn't long before lots of people began to arrive and by the time we had collected our lunch and returned, it was quite hard to find a good place to view the events!
Yabusame was orginally created in order for samurai to improve their archery skills... and I've no doubt it did - anyone who can canter in a straight line, take and fit an arrow aim it to their left and hit a 30cm square target as they thunder past is pretty skilled in my books!
The most impressive thing about this event was that even though many women don't engage in this kind of sport (I haven't even seen many women exercising in Japan!!!) one of the top marksmen was in fact a woMAN! Go girl power!
We watched the display with great interest, attempting to understand the rules of the tournament without understanding all the language used and smiled at the crowd's oohs and aaahs. In Japan, even some onomatopoia (sounds) are different to English ones! They don't say BOOM! but rather...... actually I don't remember, but will update this once I ask my knowledgeable companion again!
Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the final round took place... it was won by the eldest rider - perhaps the wisest? Certainly on the day, the one with the greatest skill :)
I wonder if horse sports would like to add this event to their already full programme?
Omoshiroi desu ne! Interesting!
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