The horse archery of the Aoi Festival：Amazing samurai. Shimogamo Shrine, world cultural heritage
We will visit Shimogamo Shrine, where the Yabusame ritual (horseback archery) ceremony in Kyoto takes place, and the shop where Mitarashi dango (sweet rice dumplings) originated. In Aoi Park near the entrance to Shimogamo Shrine, there is an art sculpture of mitarashi-dango. It is called Shimogamo Shrine because it is a shrine located downstream of the Kamo River, and upstream is Kamigamo Shrine. Both are registered as World Heritage Sites. Let’s take a look at Yabusame. It is a preliminary ceremony for the Aoi Festival, which takes place on the horse riding grounds of Tadasu forest every year on May 3rd. This is Tadasu forest. The air is so fresh and beautiful that it is said that spirits live there. This forest is the birthplace of Kansai rugby. It is said that it began in 1910 when students from Keio University in Tokyo, where Japan’s first rugby club was founded, taught rugby to Kyoto University students in this forest. A bale is a cylindrical bag made from woven straw. This is a bag for storing rice or charcoal.One bale of rice weighs about 60 kilograms. This shrine enshrines a god who transformed into the Yatagarasu and guided the emperor. The Yatagarasu is a three-legged crow クロウthat appears in Japanese mythology. This is sazareishi, small stones that have hardened into rocks This is a charm for matchmaking. At this shrine, you can also find charms made with embroidery of cherry blossoms and other flowers that represent the four seasons. This sacred tree is one of the Seven Wonders of Kyoto and is already in its fourth generation. When this sacred tree grows old and dies, a successor tree is miraculously born somewhere in the sacred grounds of Shimogamo Shrine, Tadasu forest.The two trees are close together. This is the sacred crest of the two-leaf hollyhock, a plant that is indispensable to the Aoi Festival, one of the three major festivals in Kyoto. This is the Mitarashi River. You can have your fortune read here. This is said to be the birthplace of mitarashi dango, and it is said that when Emperor Godaigo scooped up water here, first one bubble floated to the top, and then four bubbles rose to the top, which were likened to dango. Let’s go back to Yabusame.Three targets made of cedar planks are set up on the 400-meter-long riding grounds, and archers dressed in traditional costumes and manners ride their horses and shoot arrows as they gallop along. Yabusame took place behind this fence. There are horse hoof prints. “This is a shrine dedicated to Tamayorihime, who is as beautiful as a jewel. She is said to protect women, and many women who want to become more beautiful gather here. The castration participants draw their ideal self on a hand-mirror-shaped ema, using the cosmetics they normally use. Magic markers and crayons are also provided, so you don’t have to worry. it becomes a ema that will help them become more beautiful, not just on the outside, but also on the inside. Next, we head to the tourist spot, Kamogawa Delta. The stepping stones in the shape of a turtle bird are famous and have appeared in TV dramas and anime. The confluence of two rivers forms a delta This teahouse was founded in 1922 and is known for its fragrant dumplings and mellow sauce made from brown sugar and soy sauce. It was 500 yen for three skewers. The topmost dango on the skewer is skewered separately from the others. This represents a human head and body, and it is said that mitarashi dango were offered to the altar to purify the deity. Thank you for the meal. It’s a very interesting store with old bills and antiques. Across the road is a famous Japanese sweets shop loved by locals, and there is always a line. I will introduce this shop another day. Where would you like to go next? Please comment .See you soon!
The Yabusame ritual of the Aoi Festival was held at Shimogamo Shrine, a World Heritage Site in Kyoto, Japan. Yabusame is a traditional Japanese horseback archery technique.
After Shimogamo Shrine, we visited the Kamogawa Delta, a tourist attraction famous for its Kameyadori stepping stones.
Shimogamo Shrine is also famous as the birthplace of mitarashi dango, so we also visited the teahouse where mitarashi dango originated.
00:00 Today’s tour introduction
00:15 Aoi park
00:27 Simogamo shrine : World Heritage Site
00:41 The horseback archery : Yabusame
01:13 Tadasu forest and rugby
01:50 Tawara: Traditional rice bales
02:02 Yatagarasu God
02:22 Sazare stone
02:30 Japanese charm
02:46 couple’s tree
03:18 Hollyhock leaves：The symbol of the Aoi Festival
03:39 The river where mitarashi dango originated
04:16 The horseback archery : Yabusame
05:03 Kawai Shrine
05:49 Kamogawa Delta
06:27 Kamo Mitarashi Dango Teahouse
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