801 YEARS OF HISTORY

Every year during the second weekend in October, the town of Furudono comes to life with a popular festival known as the Yabusame Matsuri. Furudono is a small town located in the southern part of Fukushima Prefecture, and is presently home to about 7500 people. It is a quiet town surrounded by mountains and bountiful nature, its major industries being agriculturally related.

The name of the festival, "Yabusame," means mounted horsemen. As part of the festival, men dressed in traditional samurai costume display their ability to hit targets using a bow and arrow while riding on the backs of galloping horses. Three riders take turns shooting at three stationary targets which are mounted about 63 metres apart in a straight line, two metres from the track along which the horses gallop.
Beginning in the morning of the 7th and continuing into the evening of the following day the Yabusame Matsuri draws hundreds of people.The history of Furudono's Hachiman Shrine and the "Yabusame" began in 1064. Yoriyoshi Minamoto and his son, Yoshiie, were dispatched by the imperial court to subdue the rebellious Abe family and their followers, who controlled large parts of Mutsu Province (present day Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures) . Yoshiie was also known as Hachiman Taro, so in 1194, when a shrine was built to celebrate the great victory over the Abe, it was called the Hachiman Shrine and the Yabusame tradition in Furudono began.
Even today, the Furudono Yabusame Festival is centred on this shrine. Originally the emphasis of the mounted archery was on its martial aspects, but is demonstrated nowadays as an event dedicated to the local shrine deity.

The Yabusame Festival has a tradition in Furudono of over 800 years. This year it will be celebrating its 801st birthday. The main attraction of the festival is held on the second day of the celebrations with a huge procession which stretches through the streets of Furudono, starting on the outskirts of town and ending at the Hachiman Shrine where the "Yabusame" horse riding event takes place later in the day.

The parade is a brilliant display of traditional Japanese dress, dance and music.During the two day festival one can experience first hand many of the traditions and culture which are now difficult for many visitors to Japan to see. One can also participate in Nodate, (Japanese tea ceremony performed outdoors) and watch the annual Kendo and Japanese archery (kyudo) competitions and the Yabusame Taiko drumming performance .Furudono can be reached by taking the Suigun line to Ishikawa station where a bus can be taken to the Yokokawa bus stop. From there it is only a ten minute walk to the Hachiman shrine. For more information, please contact (0247)-53-3111.