Dates: September 14th-16th
Place: Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine
City: 2-1-31, Yukinoshita, Kamakura City, Kanagawa prefecture
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This is the Reitaisai of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine that is over 800 years old. It consists of numerous events such as offerings of Kamakura kagura music performed when paying homage to deities, a tea-offering ceremony to the gods and classical Japanese dance. The main attraction that passes down the ancient traditions of the Kamakura Period is the gallant Yabusame, which is held on the 16th. It is a contest combining equestrian skills and Japanese-style archery which was popular among the samurai warriors from the end of the Heian Period to the Kajmakura Period. The archers, dressed in samurai hunting wear (age shozoku), are to shoot at three targets while on horseback. If an archer scores a direct hit, he receives a round of applause from tens of thousands of spectators.
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