At the beginning of the Edo Period, 'Toshiya,' a competitive sport of shooting at a target through Nokishita (about 120m long) of Sanjusangendo, gradually became popular and the sharp shooters of feudal retainers from each domain competed in order to be called 'Tenka-soitsu (the best shooter in Japan)' by staking their domain's prestige and their lives.
江戸初期には三十三間堂の軒下（長さ約120m）を射通す「通し矢」が次第に盛んとなり、「天下総一」をかけて各藩腕利きの藩士が藩の威信と己の命を懸けて競い合った。