Kamigamo horse race (Pre-Aoi 5/5)

The green green grounds of Kamigamo, as the horse riders parade in front of expectant spectators

The Keiba Shinji (aka Kurabe Uma Shinji) is a horse race which takes place on May 5 every year at Kamigamo Jinja. It started 920 years ago to please the kami in preparation for the main event of the Aoi Festival on May 15. More specifically, it’s intended to put the kami in a good mood prior to its descent to the shrine in the Miare-sai on May 12. (Kamigamo’s kami is Kamo Wake-Ikazuchi, a thunder deity which first manifested on the shrine’s sacred hill, Koyama.)

The two enigmatic sand piles at Kamigamo, possibly representing Mt Koyama in yin-yang terms

In the past the horses were wild and unbroken. Riders had no stirrup or saddle, but had to hold onto a belt around the horse’s body – much like a rodeo. It was a true test of a rider’s mettle. Fearlessness and doggedness were treasured, as much as the skills involved. The Ashikaga shoguns often attended, as did Oda Nobunage who was such a fan that he donated two horses to the shrine.

The course is laid out towards the north, in the direction of the sacred Koyama. A temporary shrine is set up, with two sand piles echoing the pair that sit in the main compound of the shrine. The horses gallop off at ferocious speed down the short course, generating a sense of energy intended to foster fertility in the coming year’s crops.

For participants there is a banquet before proceeding to the shrine where they petition for safety and victory. Riders and horses were previously matched in a rite on May 1 involving a type of iris (shobu, the name of the flower, also means ‘competition’). There are 20 horses and 10 matches, with a red team and a black team. Costumes are modelled on those of bugaku dance performers.

Some of the horses were notably nervy before the event, but when their time came they performed with aplomb. The fleetness of foot was impressive – a demonstration of horse power that serves as a reminder why the creature was chosen as a vehicle of the gods. The spectators were evidently pleased with the sunshine event; presumably the kami was too.