Kasagake or Kasakake (笠懸, lit. "hat shooting") is a type of Japanese mounted archery. In contrast to yabusame, the types of targets are various and the archer shoots without stopping the horse. While yabusame has been played as a part of formal ceremonies, kasagake has developed as a game or practice of martial arts, focusing on technical elements of horse archery.
The word "kasagake" first appears in "Sadaie Assonn Ki" (定家朝臣記) by Minamoto no Sadaie in 1057 and "Shin Sarugō Ki" (新猿楽記) by Fujiwara no Akihira (989-1066)[1] while legendary sayings states kasagake has been started by Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199).
At first, hats (ayaigasa) hung on azuchi were used as targets, later replaced by target specially made for kasagake, consists of wooden skeleton, cotton, wool or rice straws stuffing and leather surface, hung on wooden frames as in the picture above.
In Kamakura period, "the three martial arts of mounted archery" (騎射三物), which are yabusame, kasagake, and inuoumono, are widely practiced by samurai. These martial arts lost their importance when the Kamakura Shogunate fell. Kasagake was inherited just inside the Ogasawara and Takeda family as a part of bowing manners for long years.
In Edo period, under the command of Tokugawa Yoshimune, Ogasawara Tsuneharu revived the three martial arts of mounted archery.[2] Ogasawara school arts are played at Edo Bakufu's official yard Takadanobaba with the aid of Bakufu and Takeda school arts are trained in Jishukan school at Kumamoto by the Hosokawa family.
Today, Ogasawara school and Takeda school kasagake can be watched on some festivals, such as the shinji kasagake at Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, Dousun Festival in Miura, Kanagawa and local festival in Kasakake, Gunnma, where Minamoto no Yoritomo performed kasageke.
Details may varies from school. Below are some sample rules.
Kasagake uses a 109m (358feet) long horse yard. Fences known as "rachi" (埒) are placed on each side of the horse running path: "saguri" (疏). The target is set at the 71m (233feet) point from the starting point "babamoto" (馬場元), the left side of the path. The archer shoots the target while running the path.
Like yabusame, the archers wear hitatare (直垂, a kind of formal dress for samurai) and mukabaki (行縢). Cuffs are not tied and traditionally igote (射籠手, arm bands) are not put on. The archer does not wear the hat, for the hat was historically taken for the target.