Heki Danjo Masatsugu (1443-1502) is one of the archers who most influenced the kyudo history. His historical existence has been questioned but recent studies tend to confirm it.

Heki Danjo Masatsugu

It was the legendary founder of the kyudo (called kyujutsu at that time) Heky Ryu school. The school, founded in 1483, was the first, concerning the war shooting style, to codify the technique of use of Japanese bow. Several branches have developed from the original school, some of which still survive today.

The successor to Heki Danjo Masatsugu in leading the Heky Ryu was Shigeki Yoshida (1463-1543).

Ogasawara Nagakiyo (1162-1242)

Nagakiyo Ogasawara, founder of the Ogasawara-ryu, came from Yamanashi  prefecture.

At the age of 26 he become horse archery and ceremonial archery  personal teacher of Minamoto no Yoritomo (founder of the Shogunate and first Shogun).

The Ogasawara-ryu  is the most ancient kyudo school of Japanese Archery that survived until today. The Nagakiyo Ogasawara original technique were however lost because his school split into several branches.

The Tokugawa Yoshimune Shogun(1684-1751) charged a progeny of the Ogasawara family, Ogasawara Heibei Tsuneharu (1666-1747), to recuperate the original technique of the school by studying several text about kyujutsu, coming from various parts of Japan. The Ogasawara-ryu technique that we know today was thus defined.