About the ritual of target shooting
When the mountain cherry blossoms begin to bloom slightly in white in the mountains, target shooting begins as a spring festival in the village of Shiiba. The target shooting is a votive archery ritual, which is held to avoid bad luck in the year ahead. From New Year's Day to spring, votive archery rituals are held throughout the country. The target shooting in Shiiba follows this trend, but is characterised here by the creation of a special 'divine target'.
In Tsugao, targets are made for the number of family members in each household, using tobi paper used for New Year's shizukuri. In Kozueo, the targets have been used for 250 years, while in the Omae and Mukouyama areas, small paper targets are made. In Kozaki, a large target is enshrined with an altar and a bow is fired. The bow is made from peach wood and a star-shaped string is tied to the back of the target. The star shape is called a pentagram and is a sign used by yin-yang masters and ascetics to ward off evil. In Fudono, peach bows and thatched arrows are used. Peach bows, thatched arrows and star-shaped strings are all tools used to ward off evil.
Until around the pre-war period, there was a ceremony called 'Sen-ya no tachi-gan', in which a thousand thatched arrows were shot at a target when a person prayed for healing from illness and their wish was fulfilled. After the divine target shooting ceremony, all villagers enjoy target shooting. However, there are old rules, complicated manners and a lot of talking. Spring Festival and target shooting festivals are also sung at this time. The Spring Festival is a festival to pray for a year without any bad luck for the family and the village. (Photo: Koedao area)
