Pictures of the archery competition held on the 33-bay-long (394 ft) veranda of Sanjūsangendō 三十三間堂 (Rengeōin 蓮華王院) in Kyoto. Archery competitions were a popular pastime from the Heian period; the contest held in the imperial palace is depicted in the *nenjū gyōji 年中行事 scrolls (original mid-12th century). This Sanjūsangendō archery contest achieved great popularity in the first decades of the 17th century, with archers from the entire country competing. Extant examples of the tōshiya-zu, a type of genre painting *fūzokuga 風俗画, also date from the early 17th century. The Sanjūsangendō archery contest is depicted in the *rakuchū rakugai zu 洛中洛外図 in the Tokyo National Museum (Funaki 舟木 version, ca. 1615). As with many other scenes in and around Kyoto, tōshiya soon became an independent pictorial subject, such as seen on a six-panel screen in the Itsuō 逸翁 Art Museum, Osaka, which likely was paired originally with another theme of warrior activities. Typical of tōshiya-zu compositions, this picture shows archers kneeling on the veranda of the Sanjūsangendō and firing arrows at a target located at the far end of the building. A large crowd of spectators watch from the ground.