Advertisements

Expanded Self Defense site 1,000s of self defense pages on stun guns, laser and tasers, house alarms and lighting; also a complete Martial Arts Directory for ju jitsu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do et al

Huge Boating and Sailing Site 1,000s of pages and wonderful pictures of Sail and Power Boats plus 100 new pages on Sailing and Naval History from Salamis to WW II

Our new, affordable Thumbnail Link Marker to attract customers to your site

Kyudo Youth Archery
Bookmark this valuable site

Thank you for visiting.

Together with our sister sites we are the largest and most popular animal, hunting and Archery information sites on the Internet. We are also the most popular after Cabela's. Finally, we get more page views because we have so much more to see.

We started in 1996 as an all-volunteer public service to hunting. No one has ever taken a penny in salary. All our information and pictures are free. Please scroll down to learn more.

                                               

Kyudo, the Way of the Bow
Megumu Matoba from Japan describes the martial art of Japanese archery.


A Japanese high school student practices the art of Kyudo.

Among major Japanese martial arts, the Japanese archery has been outstanding in its history and spirituality.

As is well known, Japanese martial arts put much stress on their mental side along with practical usage. From that standpoint, Japanese archery may be the most sophisticated and spiritual one.

The Bow in History
Looking over the history of weapons in the world, the bow was the oldest weapon for mankind to hunt animals, and it was the most powerful and efficient weapon for a long time until guns were invented. In Japan, the oldest written description of the bow appears in Japanese saga called "Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Japan).

According to this volume, the bows were the sacred weapon used by the ancient Japanese gods and goddesses, and they were used not only for hunting but also as a symbol of the gods' holiness in many occasions such as religious ceremonies.

The Shape of the Japanese Bow
The shape of the Japanese bow is very unique in that it is one of the longest in history, and it has been unchanged for almost two thousand years. Today, the bows in the world are divided into three categories by their shape. These are Mongolian, Mediterranean, and South Pacific Island types. Japanese bows derive from the Mongolian type, but their shape is very different from other Mongolian bows used in China and Korea. It resembles the English long bow.

The Position of its Handling Points
The most characteristic point for the Japanese bow is the position of its handling points. The Japanese bow is the only one whose handling point is not set in the middle, but at the two thirds position from its top, and this difference has created other uniqueness in Japanese archery including its shooting technique. Since Japanese bows are very simple in their mechanism (They are composed simply of a bamboo body and a string), the archer of Japanese bows should train himself much harder than the archers of other types to maintain shooting accuracy.


Photo: Thomas Peters - A Japanese student takes careful aim.

Traditional arts handed down over the years Japanese martial arts had been handed down from generation to generation since they were born more than 2,000 years ago, like other tradition arts such as "Ikebana" (flower arrangement), "Sado" (Tea Ceremony) and "Zen Buddhism". They became very popular when the Samurai Warrior class established its dominance in 1600.

Japanese high school archery clubs preserve the tradition Today, however, Japanese martial arts have been detached from imperialism and are enjoyed by all generations merely as a sport. However, their spirituality has been preserved and has been serving as a means to preserve Japanese tradition.

At our high school, students enjoy practicing and participating in various tournaments. Several years ago, our archery club won the third prize in the National Inter High School archery contest. This is of course regarded as a great honor for our school.

                                               

This link will take you to our Index where you can choose from 4,272 pages of and bowhunting, Hunting and Bowhunting Guides, , Animal Pictures and Information; also Clubs, Recipes, Wine and Personal Safety Suggestions, most with Forums, Historical and Educational Information Bookmark this valuable site