Kyūdō

It has an asymmetrical shape and length of more than 2.0 metres (6 ft 7 in), and its use is characterized by the archer gripping the lower third of the bow stave to shoot.

The first images picturing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow are found on Dōtaku from the Yayoi period (c. 500 BC – 300 AD).

[5] The changing of society and the samurai class taking power at the end of the Heian period (794－1185) created a requirement for education in archery.

This led to the birth of the first kyūjutsu ryū-ha (流派, style), the Henmi-ryū (逸見流), founded by Henmi Kiyomitsu (ja:源清光) in the 12th century.

[7] The yumi (Japanese bow) as a weapon of war began its gradual decline after the Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543 bringing firearms with them in the form of the matchlock.

[8] The Japanese soon started to manufacture their own version of the matchlock called tanegashima and eventually it and the yari (spear) became the weapons of choice.

However, because tanegashima took a long time to load, were inconvenient in rainy weather when damp gunpowder would not fire, and were not exactly subtle in terms of noise, the yumi did not go out of fashion and continued to be used as an important military force on the battlefield.

[4] Today, this Tōshiya contest is held as an annual event on Coming of Age Day, January 15, with women archers participating, but with the distance to the target shortened to 60 meters.

[9] In the early Edo period, Morikawa Kōzan founded the Yamato-ryū (ja:大和流), which was based on Ogasawara-ryū etiquette and Heki-ryū shooting methods, and also incorporated Shinto ideas.

Honda Toshizane, the kyūjutsu teacher for the Imperial University of Tokyo, merged the war and ceremonial shooting styles, creating a hybrid called Honda-ryū (ja:本多流生弓会).

Due to the abolishing of the original Dai Nippon Butoku Kai after WWII (re-established in 1953), several martial arts disciplines created their own organizations.

[2] Guidelines published in the 1953 book Kyudo Manual (弓道教本, kyūdō kyohon) define how, in a competition or graduation, archers from different schools can shoot together in unified form.

[13] Post Meiji when bows were no longer used for war, kyūdō in Japan was practiced for physical education, without any connection to zen or religion.

[5] Zenko (a Heki-ryū Bishu Chikurin-ha school of kyūdō) is affiliated closely with Shambhala Buddhism and was founded in the United States in the 1980s by Kanjuro Shibata XX.

With a hard glove, the thumb area is not very flexible and has a pre-made groove used to pull the string (Tsuru (弦, lit.

With a soft glove, the thumb area is very flexible and is without a pre-made groove, allowing the practitioners to create their own, based on their own shooting habits.

Typically the primary reason an archer may choose a stronger glove like the yotsugake is to assist in pulling heavier bows (18–20 kg (40–44 lb) and above).

Sometimes a type of resin powder, called giriko (ぎり粉), is applied to the thumb and holding finger to assist in the grip during the pull.

However, on rare occasions a bow hand glove, called an oshidegake (押手弽), is used, which serves to protect the left thumb from injury from the arrow and fletching.

Most kyūdō federations periodically hold examinations, which, if the archer passes, permits them to register for a grade, which can be kyū or dan level.

Traditional schools, however, often rank students as a recognition of their achievement and as permission to instruct at various levels using the older menkyo (license) system of koryū budō.

One of these changes was the introduction of video shinsa that could be submitted to reduce the need to travel as well the risk of infection - an approach that was later extended to overseas practitioners testing up to 2-dan.

These tournaments often involve kyūdō practitioners from all ranks and grades, including high school, college and adult participants.

The archers then bow to the mato in unison, stand, and take three steps forward to the shai (shooting line) and kneel again.

The next revival in America was with Koen and Kiomaru Mishima, who practiced with a small group in the basement of a Buddhist church in Los Angeles; they were later joined by Rev.

Daihonzan Chozen-ji, a Rinzai Zen temple founded in Honolulu in 1972, began kyūdō training in 1979–80, with master Suhara Osho visiting from Japan.

[24] In the 1980s, Kanjuro Shibata XX was invited by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche to the Karmê Chöling Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Vermont, where he demonstrated kyūdō for the first time in the United States.

This visit and demonstration led to an interest in kyūdō in the Connecticut River Valley, and an active community that has continued until the present.

It is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Japanese archery, kyūdō, in the Americas, and has clubs in nine states, and some connected groups.

[28][32] Several other kyūdō organizations also exist to facilitate the practice of kyūdō, including the Honda-ryū Seikyūkai, Takeda-ryū　Yabusame Hozonkai, Kyūbajutsu-Reiho Ogasawara-Kyōjō, Heki-ryū (various ryū-ha), Zen (various ryū-ha), sports yabusame, the (new) Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (hankyū only), the (new) Dai Nippon Kyudo Kai, the Japan Budo International Federation (Serbia), and other independent/non-affiliated kyudo aficionado groups.