Hamaya

It is also customary for relatives and acquaintances to give hamaya or hama yumi to newborns for their hatsuzekku (初節句, lit.

[citation needed] Hamaya are said to have originated from the arrows used in an old event called Jarai (射礼), which was held on New Year's Day to test archery skills.

Although the hamaya are typically distributed on their own, they are technically only truly effective in breaking and purifying evil spirits when shot with the corresponding hama yumi.

The reason for ordinary people to hold a hamaya on its own is that the hama yumi is considered to be held by an unseen god, Shinto priest, or some other person who has the ability to destroy evil, and the owner of the hamaya can thus shoot it by presenting the arrow to the evil spirit they want to destroy.

Because of this, NHK, which has a policy of avoiding brand names in their news broadcasts or publications, would systematically substitute the word hamaya for generic phrases such as mayoke no ya (魔除けの矢, lit.