(250) Yabusame (1)

In the “Soga Bairin” (曽我梅林) plum orchard near Odawara (小田原), the locals offer a bonus event to visitors who come for “umemi” (梅見), i.e. to view the blossoming trees: mounted archery “yabusame” (流鏑馬), a unique half-practical, half-ceremonial martial art which originated in the time of Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝), in the 12th century.

(For a bigger version of this picture both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr)