通し矢 - Toshiya

For those who can understand Portuguese, I mentioned before some kind of archery contest in Kyoto that I wanted to see. Well, that's the Toshiya at Sanjusangendo Temple (January 15th, 2006), where I went with Fabio, Jon, Rezaur and Silvia.

From this website, many archers, including young people who celebrated becoming adults on this year's Coming of Age Day, shot arrows as a pledge to improve their skills. Young women wearing colorful furisode kimono also participated in the contest and fired arrows one after another. The pointed arrows cut through the cold air like a sharp knife.

The contest has its origins in the Edo period (1600-1867) when samurai warriors competed by shooting arrows down the 120-meter long, narrow hall. The contest, organized by the Kyoto Prefecture Archery Federation and the temple, is held each year in conjunction with the Coming of Age Day.

So, lined up in single file at the shooting range set up on the west side of the hall, they each shot two arrows at targets (50 to 100 centimeters in diameter) 60 meters away. "They" are the thousands of participants (lined up around 10 at a time).

Actually they don't hit the target often, but even so the event is worth seeing (although crowded as expected). Seems like after they shoot, they recieve some kind of certificate... I couldn't take a good picture of that paper.

After that, the Brazilians decided to see some other spots in Kyoto.

• Nanzenji: This place has a central role in the Japanese History of Zen-Buddhism since 1386, when it's control was passed to the Gozan ("Five Great Zen Temples") of Kyoto. Nanzenji was first built as an imperial villa in 1264, and became a temple in 1291. Its main building, the Seiryo-den, is famous for a beautiful rock garden and sliding doors (fusuma), which are decorated by paintings of the Kano School. The temple's large entrance gate, completed in 1628, is called Sanmon. Several subtemples and a water aqueduct, which is part of the Lake Biwa Canal dating from 1890, can be found in the vicinity of Nanzenji's main buildings.

• Path (or Walk) of Philosophy (Tetsugaku no michi) : It is a pleasant path besides a canal that connects Ginkakuji with the vicinity of Nanzenji. As there're plenty of small temples, restaurants and especially cherry trees, many couples enjoy the romantic beauty of the place during spring. The name comes after a Kyoto University Philosophy teacher, Nishida Kitaro (1870 - 1945).