Bowmen's Wager

The Bowmen's Wager was the most prestigious archery contest in Rokugan, which was held annually at winter court in a four days event.

Selecting the Contenders
Each Great Clan received five invitations and each of the Imperial Families received one, and each contender donated a prize. Only sixteen archers might compete so the judges denied invitation to those whose gift was not considered worthy.

Contest
The first three days each archer was given twenty arrows, and every arrow might be fired once. Half of the competilors passed to the next day. In the first day shooted at straw targets. The second they fired while mounted on horseback at full gallop. On the third day they had to shoot animals on open field.

Final Day
The finalists oompeted against one another, and the archer with the greatest score challenged his opponent to strike a particular target. The opponent must meet the challenge, or decline, and same for the challenger in turn. When two challenges had been failed or declined in a row, the Wager was over.

Winner and Looser
The archer with more points collected the prizes submitted by the other contestants plus a gift from the Emperor. The winner gave the loser the "Cup of Defeat", to be drunk. It was said the Cup gave ill fortune to those who drink from it.

Known Winners

 * Tsuruchi - 1121