It is a traditional martial art in which samurai shoot arrows from a galloping horse. From the Heian period (1000s AD), it became popular among samurai as a court event at the Imperial Court in Kyoto, and in the Kamakura period (1200s AD), it was held as an event of the Kamakura Shogunate.
Shogun Yoritomo of the Kamakura Shogunate asked the poet Saigyo, who had once been a guardian of the Imperial Court, to teach Yabusame, and gathered samurai skilled in archery and horseback archery to develop the style of Yabusame. In the Muromachi period (1500s AD), the fighting style of samurai changed from archery and horseback archery to spears and guns, and it became a religious ceremony rather than a martial art, and was only held in the provinces.
In the Edo period (1700s AD), the eighth Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa Yoshimune, resumed Yabusame at the shrine "Anahachimangu" in Takadanobaba, but it declined with the collapse of the Shogunate. The existing schools of Yabusame events include the Ogasawara school, which draws on the traditions of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the Takeda school, which has been passed down in the Hosokawa Domain in Kumamoto.

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JPN:
木漏れ陽に　静まる杜の　小径へと　儀式つらなる　騎馬武者の群れ
Komorebi ni　sizumaru mori no　komichi e to　gishiki tsuranaru　kibamusha no mure


ENG:
In the afternoon forest
quieted by sunlight filtering through the trees
a line of people marching through the narrow path
carrying bows and arrows
a group of mounted warriors taking part
in the Yabusame rituals.

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JPN:
いくたびと　試錬を競ひ　晴れやかな　勇姿を飾る　流鏑馬の武者
Ikutabi to　shiren o kisoi　hareyaka na　yūshi o kazaru　yabusame no musha

ENG:
For many years
samurai train and persevere and eventually
having overcome many trials
the warriors who perform Yabusame
show off their dazzling bravery.

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JPN:
駆け抜ける　狩衣武者に　わき道の　つらなる者は　何を思はん
Kake nukeru　kariginu musha ni　wakimichi no　tsuranaru mono wa　nani o omo wan

ENG:
A samurai performing Yabusame
gallops towards the target
What do people watching from the sidelines think
when they see the warriors in action?

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JPN:
流鏑馬の　儀式つらなる　者たちに　礼意注ぎぬ　神々もまた
Yabusame no　gishiki tsuranau　monotachi ni　rēi sosoginu　kamigami mo mata

ENG:
The warriors performing Yabusame
and the gods showing their gratitude
to all those who attend
the rituals…

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JPN:
神事に　立ち会ふ者も　称へなん　侍どもの　冴へた矢筋を
Kamigoto ni　tachiau mono mo　tatae nan　samurai domono　saeta yasuji o


ENG:
In the Yabusame ritual
everyone praises
the sharp arrows shot
by the samurai.

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JPN:
自らの　勇気と技を　試さんと　弓馬の道を　駆ける若武者
Mizukara no　yūki to waza o　tamesan to　kyūba no michi o　kakeru wakamusha


ENG:
Testing one's courage and well-honed skills.
The back view of a young warrior
galloping along the archery and horse path.
The viewer becomes one with the noble act.