An entry in the "Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan) explains that in the year of the enthronement Emperor Yuryaku (in 457), they practiced 'Umayumi' (horseback archery), and in the "Shoku Nihongi" (the Sequel of the Chronicles of Japan) it explains that 'horseback archery shall be prohibited when people get together at the Kamo Matsuri Festival,' it has been a Japanese equestrian art with a long history since ancient times.
雄略天皇の即位の年（４５７）、「騁射（うまゆみ）」を行ったと『日本書紀』が伝え、「賀茂祭に民衆を集めて騎射を禁ず」の記事が『続日本紀』にしるされるなど、古い歴史を持つ日本古来の馬術。