Momote Shiki a Japanese archery ritual, part of the coming of day or Seijin-no-Hi tradition
Brief description of the tradition
This tradition is part of a larger set of traditions and is celebrated as part of Seiji-no-Hi or the comming of days. This is a milestone for individuals in Japanese traditions. Seiji-no-Hi is celebrated the first monday of January and on this day many 20 and 21 year olds celebrate a transition into adulthood. Young (20 ish) individuals often go to Shrines and other places to pray and reflect, along with other traditions.
Momote Shiki is a ritual archery competition that occurs as part of the coming of days traditions. Individuals from the Ogasawara-Ryu (one of the oldest schools of Japanese-style archery) take part in this event. It is my understanding that the event has evolved from earlier training exercises. The shift of the rituals is no longer on necessarily hitting the target but instead it has a distinctive spiritual focus. The focus is on how archery can be used in self improvement for mind and soul. It is most interesting to watch how each movement seems coordinated and flows from one to the next.
The ritual seems follows a simple format
Those participating where traditional clothing and unusual hat (the hat is associated with governing officials).
A priest cleanses and or purifies the archery range.
Then he fires a special arrow that has a unusual head that whistles as it flies. This arrow is thought to originally be used in wartime signals but is now used to scare away evil spirits into the four directions.
Then the archers line up and fire as individuals, not at the same time but in a sequence.
after the 100 arrows are fired the ceremony is ended with a small glass of sake.
I was especially interested to know that hitting the targets is not a focus for the event. I was also surprised by how solemn the participants. The event seems some how sacred and definitely seemed to be very important to those participating.
A poem was mentioned that seemed to describe the rituals focus.
A Zen Master of the Kamakura Period once wrote:
No target's erected
No bow's drawn
And the arrow leaves the string;
It may not hit,
But it does not miss!
This tradition is part of a larger set of traditions and is celebrated as part of Seiji-no-Hi or the comming of days. This is a milestone for individuals in Japanese traditions. Seiji-no-Hi is celebrated the first monday of January and on this day many 20 and 21 year olds celebrate a transition into adulthood. Young (20 ish) individuals often go to Shrines and other places to pray and reflect, along with other traditions.
Momote Shiki is a ritual archery competition that occurs as part of the coming of days traditions. Individuals from the Ogasawara-Ryu (one of the oldest schools of Japanese-style archery) take part in this event. It is my understanding that the event has evolved from earlier training exercises. The shift of the rituals is no longer on necessarily hitting the target but instead it has a distinctive spiritual focus. The focus is on how archery can be used in self improvement for mind and soul. It is most interesting to watch how each movement seems coordinated and flows from one to the next.
The ritual seems follows a simple format
Those participating where traditional clothing and unusual hat (the hat is associated with governing officials).
A priest cleanses and or purifies the archery range.
Then he fires a special arrow that has a unusual head that whistles as it flies. This arrow is thought to originally be used in wartime signals but is now used to scare away evil spirits into the four directions.
Then the archers line up and fire as individuals, not at the same time but in a sequence.
after the 100 arrows are fired the ceremony is ended with a small glass of sake.
I was especially interested to know that hitting the targets is not a focus for the event. I was also surprised by how solemn the participants. The event seems some how sacred and definitely seemed to be very important to those participating.
A poem was mentioned that seemed to describe the rituals focus.
A Zen Master of the Kamakura Period once wrote:
No target's erected
No bow's drawn
And the arrow leaves the string;
It may not hit,
But it does not miss!
My sources were primarily found using internet searches on Google
I wanted to put up a web page that was particularly helpful, I used a combination of other sources as well but this page seemed to have a nice amount of useful information.
as well as this video that was in my opinion well done and nicly shows the ritual
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nik5nrC-aXI
I think that such rituals are important to society as milestones for an individuals life and that such traditions should not be forgotten
But these are just my thoughts
I think that such rituals are important to society as milestones for an individuals life and that such traditions should not be forgotten
But these are just my thoughts
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