The repeated descriptions of the rituals of shooting the bow (bowing to the other archer, bowing toward the target) are most likely intended to emphasize:


O. the boy's exasperation with the repetitiveness of the archery competition.
O. Tetsuya's and the stranger's connection with their heritage

O.the sacredness of the ritual and the respect with which the archers treat the art.
O. the irony of Tetsuya's and the stranger's feigned respect in the heat of competition.