Experience the Samurai Spirit through Ogasawara-style Archery – Including a Private Prayer Tour at Nikko Toshogu Shrine

The Ogasawara School of Samurai Arts and Etiquette: The Way of the Leader

The Ogasawara school carries a prestigious tradition of education in samurai etiquette, kyudo archery, and yabusame horse archery that dates back to the Kamakura period (1185-1333), passed down through the ages according to the isshi soden system: a method of keeping techniques as closely guarded secrets, passing them on only to a single successor in strict confidence – usually a child of the grandmaster. Its first master Nagakiyo Ogasawara (1162-1242) created it under orders from the first Kamakura Shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), and it was officially formalized sometime in the 16th Century. The Ogasawara style places an even greater emphasis on samurai etiquette and conduct than on the study of the arts of warfare.

Kiyomoto Ogasawara, the heir apparent to the Ogasawara school of samurai arts and etiquette

"The martial arts enabled a samurai to skilfully suppress foes through combat and force, but not necessarily to effectively lead followers,” says Kiyomoto Ogasawara, eldest son of the current grandmaster and heir apparent to the position. “Another system of techniques was necessary to hone the skills of leadership.” The Ogasawara style’s beautifully streamlined economy of movement embodies the samurai spirit.

Kiyomoto Ogasawara, who dons traditional hunting attire to perform yabusame dedications at shrines and temples around Japan

Yabusame, a kind of horseback archery in which a rider demonstrates the fruits of their training by shooting a rapid succession of arrows at multiple targets while riding at a full gallop, is one of the Ogasawara style’s hereditary techniques. Its archers create quite the awesome spectacle, dressed in full Kamakura period hunting regalia, as they bear down on their targets at full speed. The art form has also become a traditional religious ritual since it was performed in divine dedication at Kamakura’s Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in 1187. Today, it is still performed in this function in certain locales, as a way of offering prayers for peace and bountiful harvests.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, Most Illustrious of all Shoguns, is Enshrined at Nikko Toshogu

Nikko Toshogu shrine is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), first Edo shogun and final unifier of Japan. Founded in 1617 by Ieyasu’s third son and first successor Hidetada, it also houses the former’s tomb. Hidetada’s oldest son and successor Iemitsu had a number of its buildings reconstructed in 1636, and today it still houses a number of remarkable attractions, including its gorgeous main shrine building, and numerous carvings by the most eminent master craftsmen of its time. In 1999, along with other shrines, temples, and religious buildings, it was registered as a World Heritage site.

The gorgeous Yomeimon gate, and exemplar of traditional Japanese carving art with over 500 carvings

Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu invited the Ogasawara school to serve as his government’s instructor of archery, mounted archery, and etiquette. The heads of the school continued to serve under his successors, developing deep ties to the Nikko Toshogu Shrine during its inception. The nearby Nikko Equestrian Center continues to raise the shrine’s sacred horses, and in 2024 an added archery range was completed for the use of the Ogasawara school.

The Shinto priest reads a norito liturgy at the shrine, conveying a guest’s prayers to the gods

Following the guided tour of the shrine, participants can offer their prayers at Nikko Toshogu’s prayer hall. Experience a rare chance to center yourself and self-reflect, immersed in this rich living history, as your wishes are conveyed to the local gods.

Common Forms Hidden within Etiquette and the Draw and Release of the Bow and Arrow

After a visit to Toshogu Shrine, guests will move to Nikko Equestrian Center’s archery range and change into training gear. The archery experience begins with a talk from your Ogasawara-ryu instructor, covering archery range etiquette and the handling of the bow and arrow, as well as finer points of basic movement according to samurai etiquette, such as bowing or posture when standing or sitting. All of these things are important foundations of the techniques and spirit of the Ogasawara style. The style’s course of training spends a great deal of time focusing on etiquette, and participants can enjoy an authentic experience of that training.

Receive detailed instruction in the use of bows and arrows

Shahou hassetsu, or “the eight principles of shooting,” is the name for the series of movements involved in shooting an arrow. Each involves the assumption and maintenance of correct posture throughout the preparation, draw, release, and post-release of the bow and arrow, and mastering them requires an undivided flow from one movement to the next, for which rigorous daily training is essential. As such, an attentive mastery of even such basic everyday movements as standing and walking is seen as essential to the martial art.

*In the event of rain, yabusame cannot be performed, and the experience will focus on kyudo instead.
*Those with physical impediments to or safety concerns about riding horseback may opt for kyudo instead of yabusame.

Each and every movement in kyudo is imbued with traditional etiquette

Yabusame as a Religious Tradition of Prayer for World Peace

The experience culminates with the opportunity to experience archery for yourself. Along with kasagake and inuoumono, yabusame was part of the “horse archer’s triad” of training exercises for honing combat and hunting skills. Whereas kyudo involves shooting with both feet on solid ground, yabusame is done from the back of a moving horse. For stability, riders must use their heels and calves to support their weight and dampen the movement transmitted to their upper body. To develop this strength and finesse, training begins by practicing it on the back of a wooden horse.

Wooden horse preparatory training; practice holding the bow with its weight centered roughly 10 cm (3 in) below the navel – a spot known as the tanden

Next, practice by shooting at three targets placed to the left of your path while riding a real horse at a walk. With the attentive guidance of the Ogasawara-ryu instructor, even absolute beginners can feel at ease.

Samurai etiquette, kyudo archery, and yabusame mounted archery are all interconnected

As a spectacle, yabusame impresses with speed and power. But it has a long history of deeper significance as a Shinto ritual, requiring of its archers not only athleticism, horsemanship, and technique, but also bearing and gravitas befitting the sacrament.

A Japanese Tradition Passed Down Uninterrupted through Generations

Kiyomoto Ogasawara wants participants to experience the spirituality behind these practices. “The traditions of yabusame and kyudo, like so much of Japanese culture, have been passed down through interpersonal bonds in an unbroken chain,” he says. “Their technical aspects are only part of what has made them important throughout the ages: their spirituality and philosophy have also been vital. I hope to give people a chance to appreciate this traditional Japanese spirituality that has been handed down to us from the Kamakura period.”

The archery hall’s calligraphic rendering of the character 射 (“sha”) – meaning “shoot” in reference to arrows

Deep dive into the spirit and philosophy of the samurai arts of warfare, ensconced in the gorgeous natural environs of Nikko, where the rich history of Japan’s past samurai governments lives on.