PHILOSOPHY

①

足踏み

②

胴造り

③

弓構え

④

打起し

⑤

引分け

⑥

会⑧

残心

⑦

離れ

TECHNIQUE

EQUIPMENT

ASHIBUMI DOZUKURI YUGAMAE UCHIOKOSHI HIKIWAKE KAI HANARE - ZANSHIN

弓道につい

て

Kyudo is the outcome of two historical styles of shooting: Bushakei,the shooting style of the foot soldier and Kishakei, the style of themounted archer.There are also two common but distinctively di�erent methods ofreadying the bow for shooting. Shamen no kamae (Oblique stance)and Shomen no kamae (Frontal stance).Both Shamen no kamae and Shomen no kamae follow eight stages known as ‘Hassetsu’ . The objective of the hassetsu is toready both the archer’s body and mind for the �nal release of the arrow, at which point the archer then contemplates their own shooting.This �nal stage is known as zanshin.

MATO(the target)

In Kyudo, true shooting is that of no deceit. As in the expression "straight as an arrow", if arrows naturally �y straight, one might wonder how the shooting could possibly be deceitful?

Seeking the answer to this question is an essential aspect of Kyudo. The greater purpose of the act of shooting the bow is to seek the truth. Every shot is devoted to getting closer to the truth.

The truth of the bow is measured by its sae (serenity), tsurune (sound of the string during release) and tekichu (hitting the target). The way of the bow is a process of seeking Shin by improving these skills, zone shot at a time.

真 (Shin), 善 (Zen), 美 (Bi)

SHOMEN NO KAMAE

大

HAZU(Nock)

HANE(Fletching)

NO(Shaft)

NE(Point)

GLOVE: The Yugake is an elaborately made leather glove with a hardened

thumb and wrist for support. There is a ridge at the base of the thumb that hooks the string. The wrist is rotated counter-clockwise to release thestring.

UNIFORM: The Kyudo uniform includes a white short sleeved Keiko-gi, black or navy blue Hakama whichresembles skirt-like trousers, and tabi ( split-toed socks).

Keiko-gi

Hakama

BOWS 弓

The Yumi (traditional Japanese bow) is exceptionally tall at over 2 metres in length. Traditionally yumi were made from natural materials including bamboo, leather and wood. Due to the vulnerability of bamboo to extreme climates, many modern Kyudoka (archers) prefer to use synthetic yumi (i.e. laminated wood coated in carbon-�ber or glass�bre). The height of the bowused is determined by the archer’s draw known as yazuka. A tallerarcher will presumably have a longer yazuka and require a tallerbow.

KYŪDŌJŌ

A Kyudojo consists of an open front building known asthe Shajo. This building can hold �ve or more archers and faces the equally sized target enclosure called Matoba. The matoba holds theAzuchi target bank. These two buildings are separated bya long lawn called Yamichi (arrow’s path). When allthe arrows have been shot they are retrieved fromthe targets by a designated person who waitsat the bottom of the Yatori-michi.

YATORI-MICHI

SHAJO

MATOBA

28m

AZUCHI

YAMICHI

ARROWS: Traditional Japanese bows are drawn to a greater length than their western counterparts. This means Japanese arrow shafts are longer in length. Traditional shafts were made from bamboo and �etched with feathers from birds of prey. Today many arrow shafts are made from aluminium and �etched with feathers from commercially available birds.

Nami-sun Ni-sun nobi Yon-sun nobi Roku-sun nobi

四寸

六寸

並寸

二寸

NIGIRI(Grip)

Ashibumi Azuchi Daisan Doji Dozukuri Furoshiki Giriko Hakama Hanare HaneHassetsu Hazu Hikiwake Kai KakeKeikogi MatoMatobaShaho Tsuru Uchiokoshi Ya YamichiYumi Zanshin

Foot placementTarget bankIntermediate stage of Hikiwake Training HallBody PositionWrapping clothResin for shooting glove.Traditional trousersThe ReleaseFeatherEight Stages of shootingNockThe DrawFull drawShooting glovePractice dressTargetThe target areaPrinciples of shootingBow stringLifting of the bowArrowShooting rangeBowMeditation after shot

221cm

227cm

233cm

239cm

GLOSSARY