Kyūdō () is the Japanese martial art of archery. Kyūdō is based on kyūjutsu ("art of archery"), which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan.Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior, Author Clive Sinclaire, Publisher Globe Pequot, 2004, , P.121 In 1919, the name of kyūjutsu was officially changed to kyūdō, and following the example of other martial arts that have been systematizing for educational purposes, kyūdō also reorganized and integrated various forms of shooting that had been used up until then. Many practitioners may refer to themselves as yumihiki (弓引き), or 'ones who draw the bow'. Kyūdō is practised by over a hundred thousand people worldwide. The bow used is called a . It has an asymmetrical shape and length of more than , and its use is characterized by the archer gripping the lower third of the bow stave to shoot.
History
The beginning of archery in Japan is pre-historical. The first images picturing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow are found on Dōtaku from the Yayoi period (c. 500 BC – 300 AD).
Emergence 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.Thomas A. Green, Martial Arts of the World, 2001 The Takeda-ryū (:ja:武田流) and the mounted archery school Ogasawara-ryū (:ja:小笠原流) were later founded by his descendants. The need for archers grew dramatically during the Genpei War (1180–1185) and as a result the founder of the Ogasawara-ryū, Ogasawara Nagakiyo,
During the Kamakura period (1185–1333), when Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate, archery became more and more popular, especially the three types of mounted archery: yabusame, inuoumono, and kasagake.
Sengoku period From the 15th to the 16th century, Japan was ravaged by civil war. In the latter part of the 15th century Heki Danjō Masatsugu revolutionized archery with his new and accurate approach called hi, kan, chū (fly, pierce, center), and his footman's archery spread rapidly. Many new schools were formed, some of which remain today, such as Heki-ryū Chikurin-ha (ja:日置流竹林派), Heki-ryū Sekka-ha (日置流雪荷派) and Heki-ryū Insai-ha (日置流印西派).
16th century 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.Tanegashima: the arrival of Europe in Japan, Olof G. Lidin, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, NIAS Press, 2002 P.1-14 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 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 did not go out of fashion and continued to be used as an important military force on the battlefield. The tanegashima however did not require the same amount of training as a yumi, allowing Oda Nobunaga's army consisting mainly of farmers armed with tanegashima to annihilate a traditional samurai archer cavalry in a single battle in 1575.
Edo period
During the Edo period (1603–1868) Japan was turned inward as a hierarchical caste society in which the samurai were at the top. There was an extended era of peace during which the samurai moved to administrative duty, although the traditional fighting skills were still esteemed. During this period archery became a "voluntary" skill, practised partly in the court in ceremonial form, partly as different kinds of competition. During this period, an archery contest called Tōshiya was popularly held at the Buddhist temple Sanjusangen-do. Many samurai competed to hit an arrow at a target 133 meters away, nearly the width of the Buddhist temple. 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.「感謝の思い」矢に込めて 新成人1千人、三十三間堂で「通し矢」 Asahi Shimbun. 16 January 2022
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.
Revival
During the changes to Japan brought by opening up to the outside world at the beginning of the Meiji era (1868–1912), the samurai lost their status. Therefore, kyūjutsu was considered obsolete and began to decline. Kyūjutsu practitioners established dojos to survive and began to spread among the common people. Kyūjutsu was first adopted as a subject in school education in 1895, encouraged by its beginning to spread among the common people. In 1896, a group of kyūjutsu masters gathered to save traditional archery. 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). From 1919, the name of "kyūjutsu" was gradually replaced within clubs and events with the term "kyūdō", with "kyūjutsu" disappearing completely by 1933. A mixed-style form was created by blending Ogasawara-ryū, Honda-ryū, and Heki-ryū, which was called kyūdō yosoku. A ranking system for kyūdō was established in 1923. Kyūdō also reorganized and integrated various other forms of shooting. 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. Guidelines published in the 1953 book define how, in a competition or graduation, archers from different schools can shoot together in unified form.
Purpose Kyūdō is practiced in many different schools, some of which descend from military shooting and others that descend from ceremonial or contemplative practice. Therefore, the emphasis is different. Some emphasize aesthetics and others efficiency. Contemplative schools teach the form as a meditation in action. In certain schools, to shoot correctly will result inevitably in hitting the desired target. For this a phrase seisha hicchū (正射必中), "true shooting, certain hitting", is used.
According to the All Nippon Kyudo Federation, the supreme goal of kyūdō is the state of shin-zen-bi (真善美), roughly "truth-goodness-beauty", which can be approximated as: when archers shoot correctly (i.e. truthfully) with virtuous spirit and attitude toward all persons and all things which relate to kyūdō (i.e. with goodness), beautiful shooting is realized naturally.
Kyūdō practice, as in all budō, includes the idea of moral and spiritual development. Today many archers practice kyūdō as a sport, with marksmanship being paramount. However, the goal most devotees of kyūdō seek is seisha seichū (正射正中), "correct shooting is correct hitting". In kyūdō the unique action of expansion (nobiai; 伸合い) that results in a natural release is sought. When the technique of the shooting is correct the result is that the arrow hits the target. To give oneself completely to the shooting is the spiritual goal, achieved by perfection of both the spirit and shooting technique leading to munen musō (無念無想), "no thoughts, no illusions". This however is not Zen, although Japanese bow can be used in Zen-practice or kyūdō practiced by a Zen master.Genishiro Inagaki, 1980 in Bagge 2001, Kyudo - Japanilainen jousiammunta, 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.
Kyūdō itself is not a religion, but instead has influences from both Shinto and Zen. 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. However, since the Second World War, kyūdō has often been associated with Zen Buddhism, largely due to the efforts of a single book, Zen in the Art of Archery (1948) by the German author Eugen Herrigel. Herrigel spoke only a little Japanese, generally using a translator to speak with his teacher. His view on kyūdō is due his exposure to a contemplative form of kyūdō. Even so, Herrigel's book, when translated into Japanese in 1956, had a huge impact on the perception of kyūdō also in Japan.
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. It has groups practicing in the United States and a group in Canada.
Dōjō Kyūdō dōjō (training halls, aka "kyūdōjō") vary in style and design from school to school, and from country to country. In Japan, most dōjō have roughly the same layout; an entrance, a large dōjō area, typically with a wooden floor and a high ceiling, a position for practice targets (called makiwara; 巻藁), and a large open wall with sliding doors, which, when opened, overlooks an open grassy area and a separate building, the matoba (的場), which houses a sand hillock and the targets, placed 28 metres from the dōjō floor.
Practice Kyūdō is practiced in different schools and styles, and even between dōjō of the same style, the form of practice can vary. To harmonize practice and ceremonial shooting (sharei; 的礼) in 1953 the All Nippon Kyudo Federation (ANKF) formed an establishing committee from the main schools to take the best elements of each school and form the general style that is used today throughout Japan and in most kyūdō federations in the west. This standard form was documented in a manual, Kyudo Manual, Principles of Shooting, published in 1953. The ANKF is the governing body for kyūdō in Japan, and oversees the majority of kyūdō clubs and events in kyūdō.
In kyūdō there are three kinds of practice (keiko; 稽古): mitori geiko (見取り稽古) – receiving with the eyes the style and technique of an advanced archer, kufū geiko (工夫稽古) – learning and keeping in mind the details of the technique and spiritual effort to realize it and kazu geiko (数稽古) – repetition through which the technique is personified in one's own shooting.Genishiro Inagaki, 1989 in Bagge 2001, Kyudo - Japanilainen jousiammunta,
Kyūdō is different to other martial arts, in that it is largely static. It can be enjoyed competitively, or as a simple recreation. It can also be enjoyed by those seeking to gain the beauty of form.
Beginners start with a rubber practice bow and by practising the movements of hassetsu (八節). The second step for a beginner is to do karabiki (空引) training with a bow without an arrow to learn handling of the bow and performing hassetsu until full draw. Handling and maintenance of the equipment is also part of the training. After given permission by the teacher beginners start practicing with the glove and arrow. Next steps may vary from teacher to teacher, but include practising first yugamae (弓構え), then the draw and last release and shooting at makiwara. A beginner starting to shoot at the mato (的) may be asked to shoot from half or three-quarters of the usual distance.Feliks Hoff, The Way of the Bow, 2001 (engl.ed.)
Advanced beginners and advanced shooters practice shooting at makiwara, mato and some with omato.
Makiwara is a specially designed straw target (not to be confused with makiwara used in karate). The makiwara 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 the archer's body). Because the target is so close and the shot most certainly will hit, the archer can concentrate on refining technique rather than on the arrow's arc.