2024/5/5 上賀茂神社 賀茂競馬（かもくらべうま）Kamo Kurabeuma Horse Racing Ritual at Kamigamo Shrine

賀茂競馬（くらべうま）とは今から931年前の寛治7（1093）年、天下泰平と五穀豊穣を祈って宮中で行われていた競馬会を上賀茂神社に移したことから始まった神事です。競馬会の儀が13：00から行われ、14：00頃から芝生で競馳が始まりました。乗尻（のりじり＝騎手）は舞楽装束をつけ、右方（うかた）と左方（さかた）が一対となって馬を走らせ、早さを競う。1馬身の差をつけて2頭の馬を走らせ、その差が広がれば前の馬、縮まれば後の馬の勝利となります。
The Kamo Horse Racing, which started 931 years ago in the year 1093 during the Kanji era, is a ritual that originated from moving the horse racing event held in the imperial court to the Kamigamo Shrine to pray for peace and abundant harvests. The ritual of the horse racing event began at 1:00 PM, and around 2:00 PM, the racing on the turf started. Riders, called "Norijiri" or jockeys, wore ceremonial costumes and raced their horses in pairs, with one on the right side and one on the left, competing for speed. They would race two horses with a difference of one horse length between them, and if the gap widened, the front horse would win, while if it narrowed, the back horse would win.