Kamakura Festival - Horse Archery Contest
Near: Kamakura (Event is Free)
Event Date(s):
Apr. 16, 2025
(3rd Sunday of April)
Dates are subject to change without notice. Check with the official organizers before making travel arrangements.
This festival is held at the very famous shrine "Tsurugaoka Shrine" (in Japanese; "Tsurugaoka Hachimangu" 鶴岡八幡宮) in Kamakura (near to Tokyo). Not only is the shrine famous but the festival also has exciting and beautiful features. The festival lasts from the second Sunday of April to the third Sunday of April but the two main events happen on:
1.) The second Sunday of April holds the "The Dance of Shizuka" (in Japanese; "Shizuka No Mai" 静かの舞) dance. Shizuka was a princess, a weel-known tagic heroine in Japan. She was taken captive by a warlord and kept from her love. The dance was to express her love for the man she could never see.
2.) The third Sunday of April holds the "Shoot an arrow while riding a horse" (in Japanese; "Yabusame" 流鏑馬) event. The participants gallop along a path and try to shoot a target.
2 Chome-1-31
Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-8588 Japan
