ZUSHI, Japan: It is about as far from the Olympic sport of archery as it can get. The bow is taller than the person shooting it and, to the uninitiated, it appears lopsided and unbalanced. There are no sights and no high-tech stabilizers.
And it is done on horseback, at upward of 65 kilometers per hour, or 40 miles per hour.
It's called yabusame, and it is the sport of the samurai.
Each year, archers in feudal shooting gear climb on their decorated mounts for a lively competition on the beach of Zushi, a town just south of Tokyo, galloping in the sand as thousands of onlookers cheer and shout. The first competition was held here in 1199.
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