A dragonfly lands on the tip of my arrow as I draw back the string of my yumi, the two-meter Japanese longbow used for horseback archery. My teacher smiles and tells me this is a good omen. Kachimushi, or "victory insects," were an emblem of the samurai because they fly directly and ruthlessly toward their prey, never retreating. The dragonfly takes off just in time for me to release the arrow into the first of three targets as Tobe and I gallop down the track. Tobe is a Dosanko pony mix, a breed from the island of Hokkaido. His name means "to fly."

Last fall, I spent a month in the small horse-obsessed city of Towada, training in the Japanese mounted martial art of yabusame. Historically a shrouded, male-exclusive Shinto rite, the tradition has undergone a transformation into a competitive sport thanks in great part to one of my teachers and the owner of the Towada Joba Riding Club, Ayuko Amy Kamimura. She is the founder of Sakura Yabusame, the woman-only yabusame competition that takes place every spring under a canopy of cherry blossoms.

I returned to Towada this weekend to film and photograph the competition, and between actual work was able to steal a few moments to ask some archers the ever-important question:

"What's your favorite song?" / "Anatano okiniiri no uta wa nandesu ka?"