Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Sanjusangen-do Temple

 

     The Toshiya archery exhibition competition in the front cloister of Sanjusangen-do Temple in Kyoto dates back to the 16th century.  During the Edo Period, the competition included several contests:  Great Arrow Number Contest (how many arrows a contestant shoot through the cloister in a day), Daytime Arrow Number Contest (how many arrows a contestant shoot through the cloister in half a day), 1,000 Arrows Contest (how many arrows a contestant shoot through the cloister out of 1,000 arrows), 100 Arrows Contest (how many arrows a contestant shoot through the cloister out of 100 arrows), Half the Building Contest (a kind of a junior contest), and some others.  The competition became a kind of an inter-domain game, and got out of hand.  The most popular and significant event was the Great Arrow Number Contest.  After the 1620’s, the contest seemed to be straight fights between the Owari and Kii Domains.  On May 22nd, 1669, Hoshino Shigenori (1642-1696) from the Owari Domain shot 8,000 arrows through the cloister out of 10,542 arrows he shot in a day.  On April 27th, 1686, Wasa Norito (1663-1713) from Kii Domain shot 8,133 arrows through the cloister out of 13,053 arrows he shot in a day.  He was the best shooter ever.  Amazingly, he shot 9 arrows in a minute for 24 hours! 

     At the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the archery exhibition competition in Kyoto became so popular that the copy temple was built in Edo in 1643 to organize a similar competition.

     The temple was, however, torn down in 1872, when the Tokyo Castle, which used to be called the Edo Castle before 1868, became the Imperial Palace.  The first railway service was started in the year, and Edo was rapidly metamorphosing itself into Tokyo.  Today, we can only find the stone statue left to show the site.

     Sanjusangen-do Temple is also the #3 member tempoe of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 2 Chome-4 Tomioka, Koto Ward, Tokyo 135-0047