Inuoumono, the Samurai Art of Shooting Dogs

A Samurai Military Training Exercise & Popular Sport of the Nobility & Elite

Inuoumono (犬追物) Dog Shooting

Inuoumono, or Dog Shooting was a samurai archery discipline and training method believed to have originated in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) in which horse mounted samurai archers shot at targets of live dogs.

It was one of the three types of mounted archery, along with yabusame and kasagake expected to have been practiced by the samurai. While dog shooting was originally a military training exercise, but became a popular sport enjoyed by the nobility and samurai elite during the Kamakura and Muromachi (1336-1573) periods.