When is the Tsuwano yabusame held, and what time should I arrive?

It falls on the first Sunday of April each year — 5 April in 2026 — with a morning session from about 10:00 and an afternoon session from about 13:30. Arrive well before a session to find a place along the rope, since the course is narrow and the good standing positions near the targets go first.

Do I need a ticket to watch?

No. Standing room along the course is free and requires no booking. Reserved seats are sold separately at ¥3,000, paid in cash on the day through the Tsuwano Town Tourism Association, and they sell out — so plan on standing unless you have arranged a seat in advance.

What makes the Tsuwano course different from other yabusame?

Most yabusame you can see in Japan are performed on modern grounds. The course at Washibara Hachimangu was built in 1568 on the model of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu's in Kamakura and is the only one that survives in its original form, roughly 250 metres long with the old spectators' bank still running beside it. That setting, rather than the riding alone, is why it draws people across the country.

Tsuwano Yabusame Festival

鷲原八幡宮流鏑馬神事

Early April 2027

Tsuwano, Shimane

A yabusame rider in Kamakura-period hunting dress at full gallop on a black horse, arm still extended after the loose, the struck target board flying apart against a navy curtain while costumed officials watch from the grass bank — Photo:The moment of the hit at Washibara Hachimangu. A clean strike shatters the board — there are three targets down the course, and the cherries along it are usually out on the day.U.S. Marine Corps via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · cropped

The dates for this event have not been confirmed yet. They are an estimate from the event’s own pattern, and this page is updated as soon as the organiser announces the real ones — check the official site for the latest. Last held 5 April 2026.

Yabusame, the ritual archery of mounted samurai, is performed at shrines across Japan, but Tsuwano's course is the one the riders come to see. The baba at Washibara Hachimangu was laid out in 1568 by the castle lord Yoshimi Masayori when he rebuilt the shrine, modelled on the course at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura, and it is the only one in the country still holding its original form: a straight run of some 250 metres with a grass bank along one side, where the lord's party sat to watch. It has been a prefectural historic site since 1966.

The rite is held on the first Sunday of April and performed by the Tsuwano Yabusame Preservation Society. Riders in Kamakura-period hunting dress — lacquered hats, deerskin chaps — gallop the course and loose at three square targets in turn, and a clean hit shatters the board to a shout from the bank. There are two sessions, from about 10:00 and about 13:30, and the cherry trees along the course are usually open on the day.

Standing room along the course is free and needs no booking. Reserved seats are ¥3,000, paid in cash on the day, and they sell out. Tsuwano itself is a small castle town in the Shimane mountains, reached by limited express from Shin-Yamaguchi on the Sanyo Shinkansen or from Masuda on the San'in coast, and its carp-filled canals, samurai quarter and the tunnel of vermilion gates climbing to Taikodani Inari are worth a night on either side.

Tsuwano Yabusame Festival

Discover what Japan celebrates through the year

Frequently Asked Questions