| DATE: | January 14, 2007 From 9:00 to 15:30 | |
| PLACE: | 657 Sanjusangendo-mawari-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto |
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| DIRECTION: | City Bus #206 or #208 to Hakubutsukan Sanjusangendo-mae | |
| TEL: | 81-75-561-0467 | |
| ADMISSION: | Free | |
| TEXT: | Yanagi-no-okaji is a ritual in which New Year water is purified for seven days by the spiritual power of the temple’s principal image. It is then sprinkled on worshippers as a blessing using a sacred willow branch. It is a miracle-working ceremony to pray for good health, and follows the example of the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa who was cured of a headache with water. Yumi-hikihajime (first archery contest of the year), said to have started in the Keicho period (1596-1615), is a contest in which archers compete to hit a target some 60 meters away. The level of skill is quite impressive. This traditional ceremony is derived from the bygone “Toshiya (long-range archery) of Sanjusangendo.” Long-sleeved-kimono- and hakama-clad women archers who have turned 20 years old during the year have become a winter feature of Kyoto. |