🏮 Hosha Sai

奉射祭

Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine) · Every year on 12 January

120 days to go
Rooms around Kyoto fill up while the festival is on.

The Hoshasei (a New Year archery ritual) is held every January at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto. It is a Shinto rite that purifies evil and negative influences at the start of the year and welcomes positive energy. After the ceremony at the main hall, the ritual moves to the Shinen saijo, where archery using bow and arrow is performed publicly, and viewing is free. This festival is rooted in an ancient belief in the power of arrows to ward off evil and to pray for a good harvest. It is said that in the past, the way arrows shot by Shinto priests landed was used to divine whether the year's harvest would be good or bad, and it is passed down today as a traditional Shinto rite of Fushimi Inari Taisha. The highlight of the ritual is when the deputy chief priest shoots a sacred arrow in the four directions and heaven and earth, after which two Shinto priests each shoot two arrows at a large target about 20 meters away. The powerful scene of the archery ceremony conveys an ancient faith praying for safety and a good harvest in the new year.