A full draw, called "kai".

Kyūdō (弓道:きゅうどう, Kyūdō^?), literally meaning "way of the bow", is the Japanese art of archery. It is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2000x3008, 5878 KB) Kyudo - full draw/Kai Photo by: Kollotzek/Wallrafen 2004 Kyudoka with Hakama and Gi I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2000x3008, 5878 KB) Kyudo - full draw/Kai Photo by: Kollotzek/Wallrafen 2004 Kyudoka with Hakama and Gi I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Taijitu This article is about the Chinese character. ... A bow is ancient weapon that shoots arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow. ... These arrows score as an inner 10 (X), and a 9 Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Gendai budō (現代 武道) is a Japanese expression that is used to define the modern Japanese martial arts. ...

It is estimated that there are approximately half a million practitioners of kyūdō today. In Japan, by most accounts, the number of female kyūdō practitioners is at least equal to and probably greater than the number of male practitioners.

Purpose of Kyūdō

In its most pure form, kyūdō is practiced as an art and as a means of moral and spiritual development. Many archers practice kyūdō as a sport, with marksmanship being paramount. However, the goal most devotees of kyūdō seek is seisha seichu, "correct shooting is correct hitting". In kyūdō the unique action of expansion (nobiai) that results in a natural release, is strived for. When the spirit and balance of the shooting is correct the result will be for the arrow to arrive in the target. To give oneself completely to the shooting is the spiritual goal. In this respect, many kyūdō practitioners believe that competition, examination, and any opportunity that places the archer in this uncompromising situation is important, while other practitioners will avoid competitions or examinations of any kind. Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ...

Kyūdō practice

In a typical practice session, a practitioner will begin with seiza (traditional sitting position) followed by mokuso (meditation). A woman in seiza, on tatami, performing the Japanese tea ceremony Seiza (正座, literally correct sitting) is a Japanese word which describes the traditional formal way of sitting in that country. ...

The practitioner may then warm-up by shooting at a specially designed straw target called makiwara ya (not to be confused with a regular makiwara used in hand budō). The makiwara ya is shot at from a very close range (about seven feet, or the length of the archer's strung yumi when held horizontally from the centerline of his body). Because the target is so close and the shot most certainly will hit, the archer can concentrate on refining his technique rather than on worrying about where the arrow will go. The makiwara is a training tool used in various styles of traditional karate. ...

After warming up, the archer may then move on to shooting at a target called a mato. Mato sizes and shooting distances vary, but most mato typically measure thirty-six centimeters (or 12 sun, a traditional Japanese measurement equivalent to approximately 3.03cm) in diameter and are shot at from a distance of twenty-eight meters. However depending on the practitioners skill level, they may be asked to shoot from half or three-quarters distance. The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. ...

Typically the first round of shooters will fire two arrows in seated practice (zasha) before shooting from the standing position (risha)

Kyūdō equipment

The yumi (Japanese bow) is exceptionally tall (standing over two meters), surpassing the height of the archer (kyūdōka). Yumi are traditionally made of bamboo, wood and leather using techniques which have not changed for centuries, although some archers (particularly, those new to the art) may use synthetic (i.e. laminated wood coated with glassfiber or carbon fiber) yumi. Even advanced kyūdōka may own non-bamboo yumi and ya due to the vulnerability of bamboo equipment to extreme climates. Yumi (弓, ゆみ) is the Japanese term for bows (which includes the longbow, Daikyu and the shortbow, hankyu) used in the practice of Kyudo (弓道, Japanese archery). ... Fiberglass or fibreglass is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. ... Carbon fiber composite is a strong, light and very expensive material. ...

Ya (arrow) shafts were traditionally made of bamboo, with either eagle or hawk feathers. Most ya shafts today are still made of bamboo (although some archers will use shafts made of aluminum or carbon fibers), and ya feathers are now obtained from non-endangered birds such as turkeys or swans. Every ya has a gender (male ya are called haya; female ya, otoya); being made from feathers from alternate sides of the bird, the haya spins clockwise upon release while the otoya spins counter-clockwise. Kyūdō archers usually shoot two ya per round, with the haya being shot first.

The kyūdō archer wears a glove on the right hand called a yugake. The yugake is typically made of deerskin with a hardened thumb containing a groove at the base used to pull the string (tsuru).

Kyūdō technique

All kyūdō archers hold the bow in their left hand and draw the string with their right, so that all archers face the higher position (kamiza) while shooting.

Unlike occidental archers (who, with some exceptions, draw the bow never further than the cheek bone), kyūdō archers draw the bow so that the drawing hand is held behind the ear. If done improperly, upon release the string may strike the archer's ear or side of the face. Occident has a number of meanings. ...

Immediately after the shot is released, the bow will (for a practised archer) spin in the hand so that the string stops in front of the archer's outer forearm. This action of "yugaeri" is a combination of technique and the natural working of the bow. It is unique to kyūdō.

Kyūdō technique is meticulously prescribed. The All Nippon Kyudo Federation (ANKF), the main governing body of kyūdō in Japan, has codified the hassetsu (or "eight stages of shooting") in the Kyudo Kyohon (Kyudo Manual). The hassetsu consists of the following steps:

1. Ashibumi, placing the footing. The archer steps on to the line from where arrows are fired (known as the shai) and turns to face the kamiza, so that the left side of his body faces the target. He then sights from the target to his feet and sets his feet apart so that the distance between them is approximately half his body height. A line drawn between the archer's toes should pass through the target after the completion of the ashibumi.
2. Dozukuri, forming the body. The archer verifies his balance and that his pelvis and the line between his shoulders are parallel to the line set up during ashibumi.
3. Yugamae, readying the bow. Yugamae consists of three phases:
   1. Torikake, gripping of the bowstring with the right hand.
   2. Tenouchi, the left hand is positioned for shooting on the bow's grip.
   3. Monomi, the archer turns his head to gaze at the target.
4. Uchiokoshi, raising the bow. The archer raises the bow above his head to prepare for the draw.
5. Hikiwake, drawing apart. The archer starts bringing down the bow while spreading his arms, simultaneously pushing the bow with his left hand and drawing the string with the right, until the arrow is level with his eyebrows.
6. Kai, the full draw. The archer continues the movement started in the previous phase, until he reaches full draw with the arrow placed slightly below his cheekbone. The arrow points along the line set up during ashibumi.
7. Hanare, the release. The bowstring is released from the right hand.
8. Zanshin, "the remaining body or mind" or "the continuation of the shot". The archer remains in the position reached after hanare while returning from the state of concentration associated with the shot.

While other schools' shooting also conforms to the hassetsu outlined above, the naming of some steps and some details of the execution of the shot may differ.

Kyūdō rankings

Using a system which is common to modern budō (martial art) practices, most kyūdō schools periodically hold examinations, which, if the archer passes, results in the conveying of a grade, which can be kyū or dan level. Traditional schools, however, often rank students as a recognition of attaining instructor status using the older menkyo (license) system of koryū budō. KyÅ« (ç´š:きゅう) is a Japanese term used in martial arts, chadō, ikebana, go, shogi and in other similar activities to designate various degrees or levels of proficiency or experience. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Dan grade. ... KoryÅ« (古流) is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. ...

While kyūdō's kyū and dan levels are similar to those of other budō practices, colored belts or similar external symbols of one's level are not worn by kyūdō practitioners.

Major traditions

• Chozen-ji
• Heki-ryū Chikurin-ha (see Onyumishi Kanjuro Shibata XX)
• Heki-ryū Insai-ha
• Heki-ryū Sekka-ha
• Honda-ryū
• Ogasawara Ryu

Onyumishi Kanjuro Shibata XX, Sensei (born 1921) is twentieth in a line of master bowmakers and a Kyudo teacher of the Heki Ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha tradition. ...

Kyūdō in Popular Culture

• The character Kikyo from the anime InuYasha is a practitioner of kyūdō.
• The character Doumeki from the anime xxxHolic.
• The character Naoji from the anime and GBA game Meine Liebe.
• The character Yukito from the anime Card Captor Sakura is a practitioner of kyūdō, as well as other sports.
• Arjuna, the main character of the anime Earth Girl Arjuna is a practitioner of kyūdō.
• The character Uryū Ishida from the anime Bleach (manga).

Kikyo ) is a character in the manga and anime series InuYasha. ... Serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday Original run 1996 – 2007? No. ... The first volume of ×××HOLiC as released by Del Rey Manga. ... Ginyuu Mokushiroku Meine Liebe (English: My Love, Japanese: 吟遊黙示録 マイネリーベ) is a Japanese animation series produced in 2004 by the studio Bee Train. ... Earth Girl Arjuna (also known as Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna) is a twelve-episode anime series that was originally aired by TV Tokyo between 2001-01-09 and 2001-03-27. ... UryÅ« Ishida ) is a major character in the anime and manga series Bleach. ... Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump Original run August 2001 – (ongoing) No. ...

See also

• Budō
• Gendai budō
• Yabusame Japanese archery involving riding a horse
• Heki Danjo Masatsugu founder of Heki-ryū school, part of the basis of modern day kyūdō

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Gendai budō (現代 武道) is a Japanese expression that is used to define the modern Japanese martial arts. ... Yabusame Archer Yabusame (流鏑馬) is a type of Japanese archery, one that is performed while riding a horse. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ...

References

• Hoff, Feliks (2002). Kyudo: The Way of the Bow, 1st ed., Shambhala Publications. ISBN 1-57062-852-1. 
• Kyudo Manual. (1992?) Volume 1. Principles of Shooting (revised edition). All Nippon Kyudo Federation.. 
• Triplett, Christoper and Triplett, Katja. Kyudo - Standing Zen. Retrieved on 2006-03-14.

2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 14 is the 73rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (74th in leap years) with 292 days remaining in the year. ...

External links

• A history of kyudo
• All Nippon Kyudo Federation
• American Kyudo Renmei
• European Kyudo Federation
• Kyudo in Kiel, Germany
• London Kyudo Society
• My experience of Kyudo in Japan - A personal account of practicing kyudo as a foreigner in Japan
• Kyudo in Turin, Italy
• Takeda school Kyubadou Yabusame
• Zenko International - North American and European kyudo organization of Kanjuro Shibata XX
• Kyudo club in Stockholm, Sweden